


Life with Lulu

by EzraTheBlue



Series: Destiny [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Babies, Canon Disabled Character, Children, Children of Characters, Disabled Character, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, M/M, Post Mpreg, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trans Male Character, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:01:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27759556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzraTheBlue/pseuds/EzraTheBlue
Summary: In the aftermath of their journey across Eos, Prompto and Ignis face the consequences of their journey and tend to the world Noctis left behind - while raising a child. They, and everyone they know, face the trials and tribulations of parenting - and surviving - in a world gone dark.(Part of Defects and Destiny - The timeskip in chapter 43)
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Ignis Scientia
Series: Destiny [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562773
Comments: 29
Kudos: 41





	1. Care and Feeding

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate title - "Wasteland Baby" (some of you might have guessed, haha)
> 
> Welcome to the World of Ruin! This fic is just to get out all of my Promnis dad feelings, but they picked a difficult time to do it, so we'll definitely be touching on some of the more unpleasant elements of living through an apocalypse.
> 
> I'll be mentioning specific warnings for certain chapters, since the guys are dealing with some difficult things here and there. I hope you enjoy this slice of their lives.
> 
> Without further ado:
> 
> Warnings for chapter 1: PSTD, breastfeeding, mentions of feminine terms to refer to a male character's body

**1: Care & Feeding**

Prompto woke up to a crying baby. His baby. Oh, Six, he had a baby.

Ignis was awake as well, rocking and shushing Luna where she was swaddled in his arms. Prompto could faintly hear him, “Daddy just needs a little more sleep, dear thing, no tears, no tears…" He saw Ignis pat her diapered bottom, lips pursed. "You're not wet, now-"

"Iggy," Prompto mumbled, "Lemme see her." His chest was sore, but Prompto was certain he wasn't just heartsick. "Might be hungry."

Ignis turned towards Prompto. "I had suspected as much, yes. Here, darling." Ignis carefully offered Luna - _their baby_ , gods, they had a baby - to him, and stood as Prompto got her on his chest. "The midwife is still here, she wanted to check how our dear girl nursed. May I get her?"

"Yeah, sure." Prompto cradled his daughter close and carefully sat up, keeping her steady to his chest. He winced as her wide, pink mouth opened against his shirt. Ignis precariously stood and made his way to the door, and Prompto stroked her hair. "Hey, pretty," he whispered in a voice just for her. She whimpered again, face screwed up, and Prompto hushed her and hugged her tighter. "One second. Daddy's gonna feed you, one way or another."

Somehow, before everything else had come up, Prompto had dreaded this most of all. 

Ignis returned with the midwife, who led him by the hand (to his obvious annoyance). However, she led Ignis to sit on the bed, and pulled the chair around. "How are you feeling, Prompto?"

"Sore," Prompto answered honestly, "but my daughter's really pretty, so life's not all bad."

Ignis smiled weakly, and the midwife chuckled and patted his back. "The soreness should wear off in a few weeks. For now, let's see how you nurse, so we can be sure your baby girl will get enough to eat."

Prompto winced but adjusted his shirt to expose his chest. He wanted to cover it back up, because this was the one part of himself he really hated most. He was glad they were still there for his daughter's sake, but he didn't like just how important they were all of a sudden.

"I somewhat regret," Ignis said softly as Prompto hesitated, "not attempting to see if I could convince myself to lactate. Given that men do have the capability to do so, the hormone that causes it is merely unstimulated."

That caught Prompto off-guard. "Wait, for real?"

Ignis gave a sharp nod. "I read an article that stated that a father who properly prepared and stimulated his hormones could produce milk. It was an anecdotal instance, but the evidence stands."

Prompto faintly realized what Ignis was doing, and couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, dads should totally be able to feed the baby." He sucked in a breath, then looked back to Luna, still softly whimpering. "But I can do it. I'm just a dad, feeding his baby girl, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Prompto lifted her to his chest but winced when she latched on. Feeling her drink, however, relieved some of the ache in his chest, and loosened a knot in his heart he hadn't even realized was there. The midwife observed the feeding, then intervened. "May I?" Prompto nodded, and looked away as she palpated the other side of his chest. "As I suspected. You do have milk, but I'm not sure it's enough. Breastfeed as much as you can, but offer her a bottle of formula after just in case."

"Easily accomplished." Ignis stood and walked to the door again, and Prompto saw him hailing Gladio. He winced and drew the blanket over Luna's head as Gladio approached and Ignis whispered instructions to him, then shut the door and returned to Prompto's side. "Gladio will prepare formula for her."

"Great." Prompto sighed, uneasy as Luna lost her rhythm, and he adjusted her, then switched sides. She latched right on again, and Prompto watched her soft cheeks work. Her face was soft and content, long, pale eyelashes fanned across chubby cheeks. She didn't care what he was like, what he looked like. She was obviously grateful to him just for being there. Prompto fell a little more in love with her.

Ignis, meanwhile, slid over and patted his way up Prompto's shoulder. "Is she taking to it well?"

"Yeah, she's doing great." Prompto smiled fondly as Ignis slid his arm around his back.

"Very strong sucking reflex," the midwife confirmed. "She'll be a fighter."

Gladio slid in just then, shaking a bottle. "Uncle Gladdy, ready for bottle duty!"

Prompto stared blankly at Gladio with Luna still latched on. She unlatched just long enough to let out a cranky squeal, as the midwife tutted Gladio. "Young man!"

Gladio remained in the doorway, shocked, but Prompto sighed and lifted Luna back to his chest. "It's okay, she'll get used to him. And I'll have to get used to showing my chest."

Gladio promptly about-faced. "Yeah, I'm not watching. Nothing personal, but I'll give you your privacy." He reached behind him to put the bottle down on the bed, which the midwife passed to Ignis. 

“Young men,” she scoffed, then offered the bottle to Ignis. “Perhaps not all of them, but enough. Here.” 

"A gentleman, when he remembers to be one," Ignis murmured with some amusement, then took the bottle.

Prompto fed her until his chest went sore, then offered Luna to Ignis. Ignis eased the nipple to her lips - Prompto noticed how he touched his fingers to her face on the approach, so easily assessing her by touch - then tucked it in. She began to drink again after just a moment, and the midwife observed, nodding.

“Good. Now, forgive me if this is a personal question, but how much can you see, sir?”

Ignis’ eye closed in a slow wince. “Little. Light and shadow.”

“Very well then. Keep a finger on her cheek. You’ll be able to feel when she stops or slows suckling.”

Ignis’ tiny smile sang a note of relief. “I can certainly do that.” 

Prompto tried to stay awake to watch the end of the feeding, but Ignis began to absently hum to her, he began to drift again. 

* * *

The midwives signed their names on Luna’s birth certificate before they left and promised they’d have it taken to Lestallum to put into public records. Ignis gave a thumbprint and Prompto signed off on the name: Luna Stella Argentum. Their moon and stars. 

Luna was adored by everyone in the bunker. Everyone fawned over her: her downy hair, her button nose, her round little cheeks, chubby little limbs swaddled in chocobo pajamas or striped and patterned onesies, sometimes cooing over her until she got cranky. Ignis never seemed to want to be more than a room away from her, turning back every time he had to step away. When Gladio wasn’t training or patrolling around Hammerhead, the first thing he did was seek Luna out and kissing her forehead over and over until her tiny little face scrunched. Iris and Talcott offered to help watch her, would play with her and dangle toys over her head to keep her distracted and entertained so Ignis and Prompto could sleep for a few minutes. Cindy didn’t quite seem to know what to do with her, but she would help Prompto if he had his hands full with her with a big, supportive grin. Cid would hold her when she cried if he was closest to her, especially when Prompto was helping him in the garage and she was sitting on a cushion on a nearby table and Prompto’s hands were covered with grease. 

Everyone seemed to want to take her from him, but Prompto was too attached.

Prompto was never far from her side. She went where he went. He had a little spot for her in every room he spent more than five minutes in at a stretch, a cuddly little pillow with support for her back, a playpen, a little chair. However, Prompto’s favorite was the baby sling. He loved carrying her around in it when he was on his feet, like his occasional walks around the fence as he got his strength back, or when he was helping in the kitchen. She would snuggle against him, her little cheek pressed to his chest, blinking up at him as she observed him or sometimes even sleeping.

Then again, everyone loved the sling. Ignis loved putting her in it and listening to his audiobooks with her against his chest. Prompto knew, given the opportunity, he could sit watching Ignis cuddle Luna and rock her against his chest for hours. Gladio loved holding her and bouncing her, dancing a little with her strapped to him even as he talked to Cor or Monica about business. Dustin and Monica each tried to get turns, too, and Iris would sometimes swipe the sling and wheedle her way into getting Luna into it. There were small wars for the sling when Prompto wasn’t wearing it, and Prompto noticed little strain marks at the seams after tug-of-war had happened between the Amicitia siblings behind his back.

Feeding time, however, was everyone’s favorite. Prompto had been nervous about feeding her in front of anyone else at first, planning on escaping to their bedroom before revealing his chest at first. He did manage to escape to privacy every time, with Ignis shortly joining him with her bottle. However, this plan lasted about three days, because after three days with only four non-consecutive hours of sleep, woken every few hours by tiny cries for attention and only grabbing scraps of rest wherever he could, Prompto was too tired to care who saw his boobs anymore. Luna cried while Prompto was in the middle of dinner with their entire group, and he simply took her from her cushion, seated her in his arm, and yanked his shirt up and his bra down. Absolutely nobody else in the room said a word, though Gladio pointedly looked away. However, he was also the first person to get up after Luna had been nursing for a few minutes, getting the bottle and the formula.

Iris jumped up the moment he put the bottle in the microwave. “Oh, no you don’t! I want to give her the bottle!”

Prompto gawked around between the siblings in shock, and Ignis pointedly cleared his throat. “I’ll be giving _my_ daughter her bottle, if you don’t mind.” 

“Yeah, yeah, _your_ daughter, fine, but my goddaughter.” Gladio took the bottle out and tested it on his finger before turning to them. “Let me help. I’d feed her for Prompto, but he’s giving her something nobody else can. I’ll feed her when he’s done so you two can eat.”

“No way!” Iris arched her back like a hissing cat before Prompto could answer. “You just want more time with the baby!”

“I don’t mind feeding her.” Ignis stood. “It’s not a trouble, it’s something I can share with her-”

“Well, y’all ain’t the only ones who wanna bond with her,” Cindy insisted suddenly. “I’ll give her a bottle.”

Cid swatted her hand. “Girl, you just want to hold the baby too.” 

“Do not!” Cid smacked her arm, and she chuffed. “Well, fine, I do, but it ain’t just ‘cause she’s cute! I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout babies, but I know plenty ‘bout the bags ‘neath poor Prompto’s eyes.” She crossed her arms tight, as Iris continued to try to get the bottle from Gladio, and the room seemed to only get louder around Prompto, and Luna fussed at his chest.

“Guys.” He hated raising his voice near her, but it got their attention. “I don’t mind you all taking turns with her bottle feed, but I know Iggy wants to do it. However, if Iggy can’t or is willing to let someone else have a turn, that’s fine.” 

Ignis cleared his throat and put his hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “I realize you all wish to bond with her, too, but I’ve been able to do precious little for her since her conception and wish to do all I can now that she’s arrived.” He turned around. “However, Gladio, as I am eating and you are not, if you truly wish to give Luna her bottle, that would be acceptable.” 

Gladio whooped, and Luna let out a complaint in response. Rolling his eyes, Prompto patted her back, then tested her cheek. She was struggling to get any more out of him, and he waved Gladio down. “Alright, Uncle Gladdy, she’s all yours.” 

That was how the informal game of “pass the baby” started. Everyone wanted their turn with Luna. Gladio would recline in one of the chairs and tuck her into his chest as he steadied the bottle against her mouth. Cindy would babble and coo as she cradled her in her arms, Luna wide-eyed and fascinated as she shook her head while talking and made her curls bounce. Iris held her so carefully and gingerly, looking up every so often as if waiting to be corrected. Cor took occasional turns, holding Luna like glass, his arms rigid as he held the bottle, not even daring to blink as he held her. (Prompto appreciated that he was trying, even if the notion of a tiny human terrified him.) Cid, surprisingly, was the most tender, cuddling her and looking down into her eyes as she drank, and if Prompto hovered close enough, he could hear Cid humming to her. 

The only real issue was that Ignis had to race everyone else for the bottle. 

“She’s my daughter!” Ignis snapped as Iris managed to snipe the bottle from the microwave, depriving him of the chance to complete Luna’s dinnertime feeding after Cindy fed her breakfast, Cid had gotten the mid-morning, Gladio, lunch, and Monica, mid-afternoon. Prompto, still with Luna at his chest, rolled his eyes. 

“Make them take the midnight feedings, babe.” He patted her back as she fussed a little against his nipple, and tried to relax. After all, this was probably the closest he would get to resting for a little while. Luna would want to be changed next, and then she would want to be cuddled and bounced for a little while. Feeding her was at least seated.

Breastfeeding was draining. Prompto knew he wasn’t giving enough, but even that was too much. The effort left him exhausted, and he couldn’t sleep enough to catch up with it because Luna cried every few hours, in need of his attention and love. Ignis did everything he could, but half the time she cried, it was for him. If it was just eight feedings a day, perhaps even that would be at Prompto’s limit, except it was everything on top of that. Luna needed her diaper changed every other hour, she needed attention and hugs and to be rocked and held. Prompto was sure he didn’t get more than a consecutive hour of sleep for the first two weeks of her life.

Prompto knew the others could see the toll that the early days of parenting were taking on him. He also could tell they were intervening without a word to him about it. Ignis, Cid, and Gladio, the bunker’s unofficial chefs, were conspiring to feed him more to keep breastfeeding from literally draining him dry, and he took a horse pill of a multivitamin to make sure what little he could give was loaded with nutrition for her and that it wouldn’t suck the minerals from his bones. Most of the fights over the sling were so that someone other than Prompto would give Luna the playtime she needed. 

There were diaper time challenges - one person would change her, and someone else would time them (and of course, check the other’s work). The fastest clean and re-diapered baby butt was the winner. Iris had taken first place on day two and refused to give it up no matter how Gladio or Dustin (or anyone else, for that matter) tried. It didn’t change that they were just doing it to take a little of Prompto’s burden. 

Ignis did everything he could, taking his half of the feedings whenever he could, helping Prompto change diapers, sitting awake with him when he was feeding her, but there were no two ways around the fact that Ignis was blind and there were certain things he couldn't yet do unaided, and there were things only Prompto could do.

For all of everyone else's efforts to unload him of his duties as Luna’s dad, Prompto didn’t feel any of the weight shift from him. He knew it was all on him to make sure she got fed, whether that was opening his shirt for her or ensuring someone knew it was feeding time so they could fetch her a bottle, it was his duty to make sure her bottom was clean and dry, it was his responsibility to ensure she was content at all times. After all, why else did everyone strive to pluck her away except because they'd realized that he wasn't fit to nurture her?

But he refused to give up. He didn't complain about the lack of sleep or the soreness in his chest, he started holding her tighter when others came to take her. She was his responsibility - he'd cursed her, so he had to make it up to her. He had to work to make her life happy and comfortable, even in this darkness, even if he was finding happiness impossible. Nobody could take away the weight of being her father.

And gods, was it heavy.

Prompto had no appetite, and only ate as much as he could stuff down before his lack of hunger turned into actual nausea. He had to tell himself, "Luna needs you to eat so she can eat" to get anything down at all. The vitamin was hard to swallow and made him queasy. Breastfeeding left him exhausted but he still couldn't sleep for more than an hour at a stretch. Even if he tried, even if everyone promised they'd tend her for a little longer, Prompto would reject the offer for help with a false grin until he couldn't go on without rest. He'd still spontaneously wake up less than an hour after falling asleep, compelled to check on her, needing to lay eyes on her. 

It hurt him to look at her sometimes. She was so cute, so precious. Her eyes were so big, deep green, and she gazed around at everything that moved while she was awake. She looked so adorable in all the pajamas everyone had gotten for her. Iris crocheted her a pink blanket with purple flowers and stitched in different colored ribbons as tassels, and she would grasp her tiny hand around the ribbons, just to look at them. It was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen, cuter than baby chocobos, cuter than Ignis falling asleep in an armchair. She never knew anything was wrong with the world. 

How dare Prompto bring her into this world. How dare _he_ be her father. She was surrounded by people who would have been better parents, and she could have been born into any other era. She deserved better.

(She didn’t deserve to be born to a _clone, made to be a monster_ , she deserved a parent who was a real fucking person!)

The anxiety, the fear, or rather the _knowledge_ that he was wholly responsible for her tiny life and everything wrong with it gripped him like an iron vise. He didn’t dare speak his feelings aloud, for fear that saying it would make others realize the same thing and she’d be taken away from him. He was lucky he was too exhausted to have a full-blown panic attack. Instead, he just dug into nurturing her needs because she needed him. For whatever that was worth.

After almost twenty-one years, however, he probably should have known that shoving things down and ignoring them only made them rear up later, bigger and more vicious than ever.

It hit during Luna’s first bath.

For the first three weeks of Luna’s life, she was washed with little wipes. Once a day, he and Ignis would carefully wipe her all over with soft, warm, soapy cloths and pat her dry - “She’s so small, I fear she’d catch a chill in the tub,” Ignis had said. Prompto hadn’t thought of that, and the shame of that only made him sink a little lower. 

However, when Luna was three weeks old, she had what Cid described as “the diaper blowout of the century” (which Prompto acknowledged was probably correct when he wasn’t gagging while trying to clean her bottom), and Gladio brought out the tub and bathing kit Cor had "procured" from the Crown City. Prompto managed to stuff down the initial burst of anxiety, and grinned weakly.

“Guess it’s time for baby’s first bath.” 

The tub didn’t look big under Ignis’ arm, but after Prompto filled it with warm water from the tap and laid Luna inside, it was enormous. So big. Her tiny little body could sink under so easily. Prompto sat stiffly against the tiles and kept a hand on her back, as she sniffled with confusion at the sensation of being submerged. 

Her tiny little body sank in, water rising to her chin, and Prompto swallowed as he watched her. 

All he could see were all of the other _hims_ submerged in tubes. 

Ignis didn’t notice Prompto shivering as he stared at Luna in the tub, instead sorting through the bathing supplies. “Here, darling.” Ignis pushed a washcloth into Prompto’s hand, but Prompto didn’t grab it and jumped when it hit the ground beside his knees. Ignis didn’t notice, instead feeling over the bottles to pick out the soap from the shampoo. “The books suggest gentle little circles on more soiled areas.” Ignis kept talking. Prompto didn’t hear him. 

Prompto wasn’t hearing anything but his own internal monologue screaming at him, _she’s going to sink, she’s going to drown, she’s just another clone, just another you, how dare you, how could you do this to her, this is all your fault, all your fault, all your-_

“Prompto?” Ignis tapped him on the shoulder, and Prompto gasped like he’d been held underwater. Luna was fidgeting in the tub, whining softly, and Prompto scrabbled back towards the wall.

“I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.” He couldn’t make any other words come out. He couldn’t move, he didn’t dare try to, the moment he moved Luna would sink under and be pulled in and he’d never see her again, she’d just be another baby stuck in a tube to be pumped full of evil like he’d meant to be because he was-

“Darling.” Ignis’ hand was on his forearm. “Darling, look at me. Talk to me.” His fingers were squeezing, and Prompto let out a sob. There were more people around them now, and Prompto wanted to shrivel up and die as he saw Cor himself getting down in front of the tub. He rolled his sleeves and pulled her from the water, wrapping her in a towel, and Prompto sobbed to see her bundled in his arms. Ignis was still talking to Prompto, but the words weren’t assembling into sentences, nothing but more jumbled information clogging up his brain around the screaming sense of failure.

“She’ll drown,” he finally choked out, and after that, it was a flood of panicked thoughts, “she shouldn’t be in there, she’s not like me, she deserves better, don’t put her in the tube-” He was flailing, and suddenly arms were around his chest, restraining him by the shoulders.

“Shit,” Gladio whispered from behind him, “don’t freak out, your girl needs you-”

Prompto couldn’t withhold a sob, as Cor drew Luna closer to his chest, away from him. Prompto tried to reach for her. “Please! I’m sorry! I’ll be better for her, I swear I’ll be better!” He could do it, he could watch her sink into the water if that’s what he had to do...

“It’s alright, Prompto.” Ignis had moved in front of him all of a sudden. “I can bathe her. Why don’t you take a break-”

He was already being moved, and he cried out as he was pulled away. Gladio was speaking over him, “he’s ruthless when he needs to be but he’s a prey animal when he’s hurting,” and he was left in the sitting area, alone, with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. 

After that, it was all over but the crying.

Prompto hyperventilated by himself for a few minutes, until Cindy came to sit alongside him, her hand rubbing circles on his back.

“It’s alright, hun,” she whispered, and he furiously shook his head. 

It wasn’t. He’d failed her, and he’d never get her back.

Soon enough, Ignis returned with Luna, redressed and clean, in his arms, and sat on Prompto’s other side. Prompto didn’t dare look at them, hanging his head low, but Cindy patted his shoulder as she stood. 

“I’ll be just nearby.”

And then they were alone. Prompto couldn’t bring himself to look at Luna, not when he knew she was about to be taken away. Ignis was just here to lower the axe. 

However, instead Ignis was lowering her in his arms so Prompto could see her. 

“She’s nice and clean now.” He laid her on his legs, holding his fingers a few inches above her chest as he released her, and Prompto dared look as she curiously swatted at his dangling fingers, alert and curious. He choked back a sob, and Ignis moved his free hand to the small of Prompto’s back. “Can we unpack your panic attack?”

Prompto bit his lip and nodded. He knew Ignis would sense it, and Ignis heaved a sigh. “You said some disconcerting things, my love. What was going through your mind when we put her in the water?” 

The tubes in the Production Facility. All of those other hims. Luna, trapped in one.

“The Magitek Production Facility,” he whispered, then folded his arms and lowered his head into them. “I’m an awful dad.”

“You’re not.” 

“Then why does everyone try to do everything for me? Why can’t I do what I need to do?” He hitched back a sob. “Everyone is taking her from me - I couldn’t hold it together to give her a bath - I can’t even _feed her_ -”

Ignis squeezed his knee to interrupt his train of thought. “You’re a wonderful father, Prompto.” He leaned over, then scooped Luna from his lap and offered her to Prompto. “She adores you. She stops crying so quickly when you hold her.”

Prompto didn’t take her. He clenched his fists in his lap. “Then - why -”

“We are all helping because we all adore her.” Ignis smiled in an impossibly reassuring way. “Everyone does. They don’t want to tend her because they don’t think you’re capable. We all merely want our turn because it’s a privilege, because she’s precious to all of us.” Ignis’ fingers tickled her cheek, then her chin, and Luna cooed softly and looked up towards him, earnest eyes full of love. Prompto swallowed against the emotion in his throat. “You provided us with a beautiful gift in our lives, but she’s our daughter, _your_ daughter. You’ve done everything for her so far.” Ignis insistently put her in his arms. “We all just want to do something to be part of her life. Even me.”

“Iggy-”

“I can’t feed her without someone to help me make her a bottle.” Ignis shook his head. “I want so dearly to do more than I do, but I still feel that I, as a father, am only an accessory to you. You’re her daddy, and so very, very precious to her.” Ignis held Prompto’s arms in place as they quaked. “I know you may feel insecure with your place right now, but I assure you, the only reason you may feel you are struggling is because there is so very much to do. She needs much from us, and I know she’s depleted you.” Ignis sat a little closer, flush to Prompto’s hip. “And after giving birth without having a chance to recover from the journey? You deserve every break you can get.” 

Prompto bit his lower lip to stave back a sob, and cradled Luna closer. Her head tucked against his chest, and her eyes closed as she relaxed in his arms. Ignis seemed to sense his racing mind, and put one hand on Prompto’s shoulder.

“Do you know what we should do? We should take her to Lestallum to see a pediatrician. We could introduce her around a bit. Didn’t Doctor Naline express that she wanted to meet our child?” Prompto nodded, and Ignis sensed it. “And perhaps while we’re there, we should have someone see you. I think Doctor Naline might be able to advise you on your postpartum recovery better than anyone here.” Ignis’ hand subtly rubbed soothing circles on his shoulder. “And if she can’t help you, she will help us find someone who can.” 

Prompto nodded, swallowing thickly. “If… if you think so…”

“I do, my love.” Ignis put his arms around Prompto’s, cradling Luna with him, and Prompto sagged with relief. 

* * *

At some point, someone - probably Cor - had decided that Luna, being the Princess Regent, was not to leave Hammerhead without at least two of the King’s personal retinue at her side. That meant that Ignis and Prompto both piled into Cid’s truck, seated on either side of her little car seat in the center back, but Ignis held Prompto’s hand around the back of the seat.

The pediatrician that saw Luna gave her a clean bill of health. That was satisfying, but Prompto still felt like he was holding his breath as the doctor returned her to his arms, afraid she might change her mind and snatch her away. 

Doctor Naline adored Luna. She openly doted on her, laughing as she fluffed her downy hair and tickled her toes, praising just how big and healthy she was. Then, she sent Ignis out of the room and talked to Prompto. She asked Prompto how he was feeling - still a little sore, really sick of postpartum bleeding, and his chest hurt - but then she asked how he was _feeling_. 

At that, Prompto cried in his chair for ten minutes. He managed to blurt out all of the feelings that had been haunting him, his feelings of failure, unworthiness, his fear that he would make a mistake and lose his precious baby girl - either he’d hurt her, or his friends and family would take her to prevent her from being hurt. Doctor Naline let him cry, still holding Luna with her usual impassive calm. When he’d cried himself out, she handed him a tissue and promised to help him.

Doctor Naline diagnosed postpartum depression and prescribed an antidepressant to help stabilize his hormones, at a low dosage that wouldn’t hurt Luna if it bled into his milk. She knew that therapy was likely out of the question, but she also gave Prompto her phone number so she could talk him through things if he needed it. Prompto still couldn’t relax, even with the promises that his feelings were normal, typical for new parents, that Luna was doing wonderfully, that everything would be alright. He just took his baby back from Doctor Naline along with a prescription, and returned to find Ignis waiting with the baby sling.

Prompto reluctantly handed Luna to him, but Ignis passed him the sling in return. “Here, darling, she needs her daddy right now.” Ignis held Luna as Prompto put the sling on, then helped put Luna into it. She leaned right into his chest, cuddling into him, and Prompto nearly cried again.

Even if he didn’t deserve her, he would never give her up.

* * *

It took Prompto two weeks on antidepressants for him to accept he was probably not the worst father in history. 

Luna had visibly changed - where she’d been a little lumpy and wrinkly, she’d settled into being cherubic, round cheeks, round head, fluffy hair that stuck up everywhere. She was getting bigger, noticeably so. She filled out her tiny little onesies more. She was focusing on her caretakers more and more, her big, giant eyes lifting to look into the face of whoever was holding her or nearest her. When Prompto put her on her tummy on a blanket with rattles and crinkly little toys, she would lift her head to watch him as he sat down near her. She was doing great. 

Cid conspired with Dustin and Monica to take the “night shift” with Luna, with Ignis volunteering to assist, so Prompto could sleep a little more. Iris was the first to jump up - even beating out Gladio when he was at Hammerhead - to get a bottle, to grab the diaper kit, or to get a toy to distract Luna with. While Prompto was helping in the garage, Cid and Cindy volunteered to hurry to her side when she squawked or needed attention. Cid was an old pro at diapers - Luna was the third baby girl he’d handled, so of course he was an expert. Cindy had been a tiny bit shy about Luna at first, but she stepped up to lighten the load on Prompto. Prompto could accept now that he wasn’t getting all the help he was getting because the others didn’t think he could handle her, they just wanted to help, and moreover, they loved her.

Prompto heard Cid when he laid Luna on the little changing table, his gruffness almost overshadowed by the affection in his tones, “Here now, little darlin’, let’s get you clean and dry.”

Cindy’s giggling coo when she got down to play with Luna on her blanket, “What’cha lookin’ at, pretty baby? What’re you thinkin’ about? You havin’ a good day, baby girl?”

Iris was more animated and joyful than she’d been for months when she knelt down over Luna, playing peek-a-boo or tickling her feet.

When Gladio returned from a trip out to deal with daemons attacking the settlements or training at the Hunter HQ, the first thing he did was check in with Iris, but the second thing he did was find Luna, wherever she was, and get his turn to scoop her up in his big arms, kiss her tiny face and give her a good cuddle. 

Ignis only truly seemed contented with Luna in his or Prompto’s arms, and with Prompto at his side.

They adored her. They cared about him.

Even the fights over the bottle weren’t an expression of thinking he was unable to feed her. They literally all wanted the privilege of feeding her when she’d taken all she could from Prompto. 

Prompto wasn’t the worst father in the world. Luna was just the most popular baby.

The cherry on top came on a day after Luna had marked six weeks in the world, when there was a hubbub in the yard, and Prompto was disturbed from nursing Luna by a loud knock at the bunker’s door. 

Cindy was the one to answer the knock. Aranea was standing at the garage door, with twenty Glaives-in-training circled behind her, pointing their pistols and rifles. She crossed her arms as the alarms blared around her, as the Glaives yelled:

“It’s a Niff!”

“The war’s still on!”

“She brought an airship!”

“Cute,” Aranea sneered over her shoulder, then faced Cindy. “Hey. I’m here to see Prompto. Is he busy?”

Cindy snapped right back: “Who the hell are you?”

“Name’s Aranea. I’m a friend of his.” She put on a rugged smirk and cocked forward just a little. “Didn’t he mention that he had a partner helping him out in Gralea when he got separated from the others?”

Cindy pursed her lips and studied Aranea. “I s’pose he did.”

“All me.” She stood back and put her chest out, still smirking at Cindy. “You mind lettin’ me in? I’d love to meet that baby of his.”

“I…” Cindy paused, then hollered down the stairs: “Hey, do y’all know an Aranea?”

From where he sat in the main room, Prompto’s heart jumped with excitement, and he resisted the urge to squeeze Luna in his glee. “Yeah! ‘Nea’s good people!”

“‘Nea’s good people, he says,” Aranea chuckled, shaking her head. Cindy’s face heated.

“You can come on in.” Cindy leaned past Aranea and shouted: “War’s still off, she’s a friend!” The Glaives lowered their weapons, but instead of entering the bunker, Aranea turned back towards her ship.

“Sol! C’mere, we’re goin’ in!” 

A small girl, perhaps eight years old, with soft pale brown hair tied in plaits, hopped out of the ship and bounded across the yard to join Aranea. Aranea jerked her head towards the girl. “This is Sol. She goes where I go.”

“Howdy, then, Sol. Nice to meet you. Come on in, a friend of the King’s retinue is a friend of ours.” Cindy offered her hand, and Sol hesitated, looking between Cindy’s face and her hand, before Aranea gave a quick whistle and Sol took and shook it. Cindy stood aside and let them pass, but Aranea glanced back at her, sizing her up and down with a curious little smile, before strolling down the stairs. 

Luna had just unlatched, and Prompto yanked his shirt back down as Aranea entered the main room with Sol a step behind. “Hey, short stuff.” She stopped in place as Prompto settled Luna in his arms again. “Oh, man.” 

“Nice to see you too,” Prompto chuckled. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Sol. Picked her up in the evacuation. Got attached. Apparently I have a thing for strays, huh?” She winked at him, then got on her knee in front of him. “You mind introducing me?”

Prompto gently tilted Luna towards her. “Luna Stella Argentum.”

“Luna Stella,” Aranea repeated softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier baby.” She bent in close. “Hey, Baby Lu.” Luna seemed to notice Aranea and turned towards her, big eyes wide and curious as ever, and Aranea cooed. “What a pretty face. Mind if I hold her?”

“Hold away, she loves meeting new people.” Prompto transferred her into Aranea's arms, and Aranea instinctively began to bounce her and coo softly, walking her over to Sol to show her. Sol curiously peered at Luna, her little arms and legs curled in tight, as Aranea cradled her, then pivoted to Prompto.

“Is she yours?” Sol pointed, and Prompto couldn’t help but notice her voice was familiar. 

“Yup, mine and Iggy’s.” Prompto took Ignis’ hand. “He’s my fiance.”

Ignis squeezed Prompto’s fingers and bowed his head towards Sol. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sol.”

“Just Sol is fine.” She wrinkled her nose and crossed her arms. “So. Uh. You’re both guys.”

“Some boys can have babies, hon; I’ll explain when you’re older.” Aranea loosed one hand from cradling Luna to pat Sol on the back. “Here, you wanna hold a baby?”

Sol shrugged, and Aranea got down and carefully arranged Luna in Sol’s arms. The microwave went off in the kitchen just then, and Ignis rose. “Apologies, that’s her bottle.” He used his cane to guide himself over to the kitchen, and Aranea moved to take his spot beside Prompto.

“Fiance, now? He give you that ring?” 

“Uh huh.” Prompto showed her, and she grinned. 

“When’s the wedding?”

“No idea. Haven’t talked about it yet.” He turned to look over at Ignis in the kitchen, testing the bottle on his finger, then giving it a shake and putting it back in the microwave. “We might wait a while, honestly. I’m not sure I want to get married without…” He bit his lip, the sentiment unspoken yet plain to see, and Aranea sighed.

“Nice to know you two made up before he vanished, anyway.” She patted his back. “Your baby girl is precious. I’ll have to make sure I see her a few times. Visit when I can.”

“Yeah, she’s wonderful. I knew I’d love her, I didn’t know how much.” Prompto sighed and put his hand to his heart. “Cindy could probably service your airship. Give you a good excuse to visit.”

“Cindy? Sure, I’ll ask her, and come get it serviced whenever I can.” Aranea smiled and observed Sol as she stared at Luna in her arms, standing stock still. “You look like you’re doing better. Tired, but okay.”

“How have you been?” Prompto nudged her with his elbow. “Busy?”

“Busy as hell. Niflheim’s being overrun, it’s been a hell of a time trying to get everyone who’s still alive out and somewhere safe.” She sighed, hanging her head. “I dunno how long the people who are still there are going to last. Even the capital’s gone dark.” She turned to Sol. “I’m lucky for every single person I can get out safe.”

“Yeah.” Prompto studied Sol, her intelligent green eyes, her fair hair, and her upturned nose. “Aranea. Does she know?”

“No. And she never will.” Aranea pursed her lips. “She calls me Ma when we’re alone, but I think that’s just ‘cause… she doesn’t know what else to call me.” 

That was reassuring, in a lot of ways. “She likes you for you, and that’s good enough.” 

Ignis returned with the bottle and stopped by Sol. “May I have my daughter?” Sol suspiciously squinted at Ignis’ eyes, then went to Aranea.

“I’m. I’m gonna put her over here.” She handed Luna back to Aranea and planted herself on the sofa beside her. Ignis followed, and knelt.

“Despite appearances, I’m actually fairly able to care for and feed my daughter.” 

“I believe you, Four-eyes.” She handed Luna to Ignis, and he accepted her, sat in a chair near Prompto, and began to nurse her. She smiled as she watched Ignis settle in with his finger to Luna’s cheek, humming as he fed her. “This must be the nicest place in the world right now. Looks like you’re doing a good job caring for her, anyway.”

“I’m doing the best I can, but I’m not the only one.” Prompto smiled and sat back to watch Ignis feeding her. He could remember everyone he knew taking a quiet moment to help feed Luna, to play with her, to give her attention when Prompto couldn’t. Everyone rallying around them, behind him, wanting them to survive and succeed. “We all care about her. She’s something to hope for.” 

The first weeks of Luna’s life had been a challenge, but they’d all made it through.


	2. Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto and Ignis are raising Luna in Hammerhead, but there's a whole world out there that needs saving. Sometimes, they have to go away.

**2: Away**

The first time Ignis went away, Luna was two months old. 

Prompto was still getting over both the sensation of “oh, gods, I’m a parent now” and the worst of his postpartum depression. Gladio had been coming and going to and from Hammerhead every few days or so, traveling to Meldacio to train Hunters, going to Lestallum for supplies and to recruit, tripping out to the smaller settlements with groups of Glaives to help defend against encroaching hordes of daemons. Prompto understood that he had to do what he could to preserve the world for Noctis.

Ignis, however. Ignis had stayed. He had been there every day, whenever Luna needed him, whenever Prompto needed him. He’d gone on patrol near Hammerhead, ensuring daemons didn’t wander too close, and he’d been out training to regain full control of his daggers and spears even without his eyesight, but he had come whenever Prompto had called. He’d conducted business with leaders in Lestallum by phone, talked to Sania and Aranea about rescue and preservation efforts, he’d been taking care of everyone and everything from Hammerhead. However, apparently the time had come when he could no longer work remotely.

“I’ll only be a few days, my darling,” Ignis promised as he packed a bag with a few changes of clothes. Prompto watched, sitting on their shared bed with Luna on his chest. “I’ll call as often as I can to check in on the two of you.” He counted his pants and shirts by feeling over them, as Prompto bit his lip and bounced Luna a little more vigorously until Ignis sighed. “Please say something, my love. Please tell me you understand.” 

“I understand.” Prompto sighed back. “You need… you need to do whatever you can to protect Eos, and to help Noct.”

“Precisely.” Exhaling sharply, Ignis stood and faced Prompto. “Holly said she’s found some archives with some information that might be relevant to the prophecy, the old Cosmogony. I need to review it, possibly have it transcribed or translated, and cross-reference it at the library there. It may take a bit of time, and I’m not certain I’ll be able to manage it all in this trip. I’ve also got to do some consulting with the Lestallum council. After all, as it stands, you and I are technically co-regents.”

That hooked Prompto by the sternum, nearly pulling him to his feet. “Should I be going, too?”

Ignis pursed his lips, then hung his head. “Oh, how I wish you could come. However, we have to think of Luna.” Ignis reached over and tangled his fingers in her hair, and she curiously batted at his hand. His lips twitched into a smile at her curious touch. “We haven’t got a proper set-up for her in Lestallum. I’ll ask about establishing some sort of guaranteed safe house for our use, given that the three of us may need to travel to Lestallum rather frequently. If I can ensure there’ll be a room for her to stay in, a safe nursery, then next time, I’ll ask you to accompany me. However, her home is here, and I fear I must ask you to remain with her.”

Prompto grimaced; he’d known it was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier. Sensing Prompto’s discomfort, Ignis sat beside him and took his hand. “Darling, please believe me. There is nothing I wish for more in the world than to have you at my side-”

“Luna comes first. I know.” Prompto relented and squeezed Ignis’ hand in return. “Promise you’ll call, so she can hear your voice?”

“Whenever I can, be assured you will hear from me.” Ignis kissed Prompto’s forehead, then continued to pack.

Ignis left with a few other Glaives on a caravan bound for Lestallum, riding on the passenger side, and he waved to Prompto as the truck pulled out of Hammerhead’s gates. Prompto watched, and lifted Luna’s tiny little hand to wave back to him. He stood out there until after the truck had vanished into the dark, then walked Luna back in. He still had parenting to do. 

Luna was a surprisingly cooperative baby even when it was just him, but with Ignis gone, Prompto realized just how many little things Ignis did to make tending Luna easier. Ignis pre-set her changing table just-so before he changed her, but Prompto found himself having to search for the powder, the wipes, the fresh diaper. Ignis usually assisted him with bathing now that Luna was bathed every other day, and Prompto was doubly paranoid now that he was alone with her, afraid to take his eyes off of her for even a moment. Ignis wasn’t clamoring with everyone else to give Luna her bottle, but he was usually the first to volunteer to make the bottle. 

Prompto wasn’t alone, no, but he certainly felt lonely without Ignis.

True to his word, Ignis called. He called from the road, just to check in and tell Prompto he loved the both of them. He called when he reached Lestallum and asked after Luna, asked Prompto to put the phone to her ear so he could talk sweetly to her. He called when he stepped out of the library for a few minutes. He called when he took a meal break. One time, Holly called him and asked him to talk sense into Ignis when he’d been poring over the records for hours and had fallen asleep in his chair, and Prompto had to plead with him to let himself rest.

_ “The sooner I finish,”  _ he husked roughly into the phone,  _ “The sooner I can come home to you.”  _

Prompto had hoped it would be a few days. However, a week passed, and though Ignis called multiple times a day, he never mentioned making progress, or how close he was to being done. 

Two weeks passed, and Ignis didn’t say anything about when he would come home, just sweet nothings. 

Three weeks passed, and though Prompto had finally gotten used to handling Luna without Ignis, he still longed for him. Everyone else was able to pick up the slack for him, but just having an extra set of hands to help bathe, feed, or entertain her didn’t make up for nothing but Ignis’ voice. 

“I wonder what it’s like for you,” he asked Luna as he lay in front of her, rattling her plastic keys to entertain her. “You don’t remember anyone or anything, right? You don’t have object permanence, that’s what the book said.” He held the keys a little higher, and she lifted her face to follow them with her eyes. “Every time you look away from something, it’s just… gone. When it comes back, it’s like a whole new one. You can’t even miss your Papa, can you?” He sighed and put the keys in her reach, and let her bat at them with her tiny fingers. “I miss him so much, baby Lu, you have no idea.” He let go of the ring and let her grasp at it, and smiled as she put the biggest key directly into her mouth. “I hope you’re at least happy with only me, even if I’m never the same ‘me’ to you.” He toyed with her hair, and she lifted her face towards him again, the key falling from her gummy little mouth.

Then, she smiled. Her eyes crinkled up, wide mouth spreading, and she cooed at him. Prompto gasped, and summoned his camera in an instant. He barely bothered to line up the shot, just focused on her, adjusted the lighting, and took the snap.

When he looked at the viewfinder, it was there. Luna’s first real smile. 

He scooped her into his arms, squealing, “What a pretty smile!” When he smiled at her, she smiled back, and his heart swelled to bursting in his chest. “My baby girl has the prettiest smile! Such a beautiful girl!” He kissed her nose, her cheeks, her hair, overjoyed to overflowing. “I have to - I have to-” He grabbed out his phone and dialed Ignis. He bounced Luna to his chest as he waited, his heels unable to stay on the ground, until the other line picked up, and Prompto couldn’t keep the babble in:

“Iggy! Iggy! Lulu smiled! She smiled her first smile ever!”

There was a beat of silence, then a weary laugh.  _ “Did she?” _

“Yeah!” Prompto felt his high deflating at record speed as he realized: Ignis wouldn’t have been able to see it anyway. “She… she smiles a lot like I do. She’s so gorgeous, Iggy.” 

_ “What were you doing?” _ Ignis sounded interested, if exhausted. 

“We were…” He felt tears creeping up on him, building and burning in his eyes, but he couldn’t stop smiling. “We were just playing. I was talking to her while she was having tummy time, and it just… happened…”

_ “That’s wonderful, my love. Thank you for telling me.” _ Prompto sniffled, and he practically heard Ignis take interest.  _ “Prompto? Are you quite alright?” _

“I’m…” He swallowed the instinctive lie, and whispered, “I wish you were here.”

_ “As do I, my darling, more than anything.” _ Ignis sighed.  _ “Please don’t cry. I can tell…” _

Prompto didn’t hear the rest, too preoccupied disobeying Ignis. Tears spilled over, and he began to cry into the phone. Ignis began to hush and whisper to him, but Prompto couldn’t make out the exact words except between sobs.

_ “I know, I know, please, believe me; I miss you just as much.” _ Ignis’ voice was starting to tighten.  _ “I won’t be gone much longer. I promise I’ll be with you again soon. Can you put me on speaker? I want to talk to my Luna.” _

Prompto was able to do that much, and realized that Luna was starting to fret against his chest - too small to understand what was happening, but sensible enough to notice that he was upset and reflecting his emotions. He turned on the speaker. “It’s Papa, Lulu.”

_ “Lulu, now? Did Daddy give my angel a nickname?” _ Prompto gasped - he hadn’t even realized it had come out.

“Sorry - after Aranea called her baby Lu, it kinda stuck.”

_ “I adore it. Hello, Lulu!” _ Luna’s eyes went big, and she swatted clumsily at the phone like she always did.  _ “Papa is so proud of you. You’re doing so wonderfully. Your Daddy says you’ve learned to smile! Do you know how many muscles it takes to smile, my sweet? Four! And you moved all of them at one time!” _ Prompto bounced her a little as she continued to reach for Ignis through the phone.  _ “Is she… is she smiling?” _

Prompto bit hit lip. Luna wasn’t smiling, no - just curious like she was about so many things, wide-eyed and intrigued. “It’s a chance thing with babies. I think she’s more curious about the phone.” He shifted her so she was looking at him. “Isn’t that right, baby girl?”

Luna smiled, all gummy mouth and laughing eyes. Prompto laughed too. “There’s another smile. Gods, it’s magical.”

_ “Yes,”  _ Ignis agreed softly, with a melancholy note. Prompto understood - then realized what had actually just happened. Luna had smiled for him, and not Ignis.  _ “I’m going to try to wrap up my business here post haste. I’ll be home soon.” _

“We’ll miss you every second you’re gone from now until then.”

True to his word, Ignis returned to Hammerhead with a caravan of new recruits for the guard five days later. Prompto waited at the gate with Luna in his arms as Ignis shrugged off a stranger who was escorting him from the van with a patronizing hand, and stopped a few feet from the door as Prompto rushed to him.

“You’re back!” He shifted Luna to one side and hugged Ignis with his open arm. Ignis gasped at the impact, then returned the hug.

“Darling,” he said softly, then turned in Prompto’s hold to kiss Luna on the forehead. “My sweet little lamb. How I’ve missed you both.”

Prompto shifted Luna to Ignis, and he cradled her instinctively, rocking her in his arms. “She feels so much heavier,” Ignis remarked with wonder and shock. “Oh, she’s… she’s gotten bigger.”

“Babies grow pretty fast. Turn your back for a second, and they just...” Prompto replied without thinking. Ignis’ face fell, and Prompto caught his error. “You didn’t miss anything really important.” 

“I fear any time I’ve missed…” He trailed off, then pulled Luna close, his hand on her back, her chest on his shoulder. “Your Papa loves you, sweetness. I’m here, even if I’m not immediately before you...”

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut. Luna wouldn’t remember that Ignis had been gone, but the two of them always would. 

“Please say you’ll be here for a while.”

“I’ve brought some work with me, and I’ll have to ask for your help, but yes. I want to be here with the two of you.” 

“Thank you.” Prompto took Ignis’ hand, and Ignis accepted it. “You want to come play with Lulu? I wanna see if you can get her to laugh, too.” 

He’d give Luna all the time she could get with Ignis and make up for lost time in whatever way he could. Ignis deserved to hear her laugh for him, too.

* * *

Ignis had brought strange, handwritten texts, and needed Prompto’s help to transcribe them as he continued to research. Ignis had also acquired a small, rudimentary refurbished computer, and he’d dictated his observations and notes as he worked, so he could replay his thoughts anytime. Prompto couldn’t understand a word of it, all talk of Gods and Cosmogony and the old prophecies. 

“What does it all mean?” Prompto asked him midway through a sentence detailing the old war between the Gods. Ignis didn’t turn from holding the bottle to Luna’s mouth.

“So far, it’s all context. I’ve still got a great deal to learn about the ways of the Gods and the old magic that supposedly condemns Noctis.” He heaved a sigh. “Were only their ways not so mysterious.”

“You’re telling me,” Prompto remarked, and continued typing. 

There was other work to be done. Cid needed Prompto repairing and refurbishing old weapons. Cindy wanted him to help fix machines. Prompto and Ignis each were asked to help train the new recruits, or to take shifts patrolling outside of Hammerhead, or delivering strong lights to the settlements. Every once in a while, one or the other of them would be sent to a nearby outpost to deal with the daemons there. Luna still needed love and care all day, every day, and the weeks passed in a desperate grasp to keep themselves going from one day to the next.

They managed it, with the promise of the comfort of one another’s arms when they returned to their bed in the evenings. 

Gladio was away more often than he was there, usually making Lestallum or Meldacio his home base or camping at the havens between places that needed him. However, he called regularly, though not so fervently as Ignis had. He did return sometimes, and was always thrilled to see Luna when he came in.

“I can’t believe she’s six months old!” Gladio laughed as he received her, and she laughed and wiggled in her pajamas. Prompto grinned as Gladio tested her weight in his hands, then fluffed her hair where it was growing in, still downy and fluffy, sticking up in all directions.

“Me neither. Time’s been flying, huh?”

“Yeah, gods. It feels like every day’s the same, but then I see her and it hits me just how much time’s gone by.” Gladio scooped her in his arms, and she reached for him, still squealing. “Is she sitting up?”

“Working on it!”

“She does push-ups,” Ignis chuckled. “Imagine my surprise when I reach for her and feel her chest off the ground.”

“She sits when supported, so we’ve been putting pillows behind her for playtime instead of just under her to keep her butt off the ground. She’s moving up in the world.” Prompto tweaked her cheek, eliciting a tiny complaint, then faced Gladio. “What’s the world out there like?”

Gladio did sit them down and give them a full detail of the situation outside of Hammerhead. For all their efforts, they were gradually losing ground. They were worried about losing settlements as the daemons grew in numbers; the fights were getting harder. Gladio wanted to recruit and train more, but they couldn’t force anyone to fight.

“I did get in contact with Weskham Armaugh.” Gladio sighed and took a box out of the Armiger and pushed it over the table towards them. “Altissia’s been trying to repair what’s left of the city and manage the refugees on the Accordo mainland, but they’ve got their share of problems too. Even so, Secretary Claustra had Armaugh deliver me a proper adaptable computer for Ignis, make his life a little easier. And, uh. They wanted you to call.” 

A call turned into a video call: after a few messages exchanged with Weskham Armaugh, and Ignis Prompto were asked to call Secretary Claustra the next day. 

Prompto dressed Luna in a frilly pink dress that had  _ somehow appeared _ in Luna’s little trunk of clothes after Iris accompanied Cor on a “procurement run” in the Crown City and strapped a hand-knit headband with a flower onto her head. Ignis combed his longer hair back, dismay in the corners of his mouth.

“I really need a trim, don’t I,” he’d mused, touching the sides of his head. Prompto shook his head before remembering to say aloud:

“You’re super handsome, Iggy. I like your hair however you wear it.”

“I don’t like it touching my ears.” Ignis took up his razor, then extended it to Prompto. “Darling, could you kindly trim the sides?” 

Prompto was happy for any excuse to get close to Ignis, and gently ran the razor down the sides of Ignis’ hair. Ignis slicked the longer parts back like he always did. “I’m not vain, but I do wish to present myself with some measure of dignity,” he remarked, as Prompto combed his own hair as neat as he could. 

“I totally get it. It’s been a while since they’ve seen us, and all!” His mop was getting a little longer, but he didn’t really have the energy to care much about looking too neat. He had a six-month-old. Secretary Claustra and Weskham would probably understand.

Prompto set up the video call and sat with Luna on his lap and Ignis at his side, and when the program opened, there was Claustra, with Weskham seated on a bench with her. They both turned when the camera turned on, and Weskham’s face split into the biggest smile Prompto had ever seen on him.

_ “My, oh, my, who do we have here?” _

Ignis, eager as could be, took Luna’s tiny hand in his. “Madame Secretary, Mister Armaugh, it’s my privilege to introduce Luna Stella Argentum.”

_ “Luna,” _ Secretary Claustra repeated with a soft smile.  _ “She’s beautiful.” _

_ “Hello, little lady!”  _ Weskham leaned towards the camera. Luna, cuddled against Prompto’s chest, shyly looked over, clearly not certain what she was seeing.  _ “Not sure she understands how the screen works.” _

_ “She’s only a baby, Wesk,” _ Claustra told him softly, then asked,  _ “How old?” _

“Six months, now.” Ignis, his fingers laced on his knees, smiled proudly, and Prompto glanced away from him and bounced Luna on his knee. “I can hardly believe it, it’s simply flown by.”

“Yeah.” Prompto felt his voice catch, but spoke up, “She’s grown so fast, y’know?” He smiled over her at them. “I’ve been here with her, so, um, how’s the rest of the world doing?”

They caught up over small talk - Altissia had been attempting to rebuild, but the daemon attacks had made reconstruction difficult. Claustra had rallied a bevy of defected Niflheim soldiers - some of the human infantry, disgusted after the carnage after Leviathan’s rampage and the Imperial attack - to help defend the people and prevent the daemons from encroaching and attacking their light sources. They were surviving. Claustra was currently focusing on maintaining food supplies.

“We’ve been doing the same,” Ignis replied, as Prompto bounced Luna on his lap. “I’ve been organizing the construction of greenhouses and animal preserves in abandoned mobile bases, getting the power and lights back on and covering the roofs in plexiglass. It’s an effort, but even with fairly strict food rationing, we will need more supplies if this catastrophe goes on longer than another two years, by my estimate.”

_ “We’ll share what we have, but we’re also struggling with a refugee issue as more people escape the Empire. The leadership vacuum has made survival much harder there.” _ Claustra, her fingers tented, face pinched, seemed to stare into a spot below the camera.  _ “However, we’re surviving. _ ” Her face lifted, gaze holding on the lens. _ “I would appreciate being able to regularly communicate with the leadership in Lestallum so we can share strategy and resources, as needed.” _

“I prefer to operate out of Hammerhead to Lestallum, given that I don’t have a reliable domicile in the city.” Ignis’ hand dusted Prompto’s knee. “However, I am in regular communication with the leaders in Lestallum, and I’d certainly be willing to arrange meetings.”

_ “I would appreciate that, thank you.” _ Claustra appeared satisfied, but her expression shifted when Weskham cleared his throat.

_ “There is one other thing I wanted to bring up while we had you.” _ Weskham turned to Claustra for a brief moment, then back to the camera, his expression serious.  _ “It’s my understanding you’re trying to find more information on the prophecy about the Chosen King and the Crystal.” _

Prompto’s heart jumped into his throat. Ignis, however, perked with interest.

“I see you spoke with Gladio.”

_ “I did. Says you believe the Chosen King might be destined to die, and you’re trying to find a workaround. Save the world, and your King, losing nothing.” _

“Noctis’ sacrifice would be…” Ignis hesitated. “It would be noble.” Prompto twisted away and held Luna tighter. “However, I don’t see why one man must die on the Gods’ say-so. Noctis has sacrificed nearly all he has to give, and while it is true that many have given their lives in the name of the King of Light, I do not think humanity should remain pawns in what essentially appears to be a long game within the cosmos.”

_ “If you say so.”  _ Weskham’s lips quirked a smile.  _ “The gods would argue. However, the ruins of the temple here may have some texts and writings on the prophecy. I had hoped to invite you to Altissia for some time, both to consult in person with our efforts, as our ally, and so you can perform whatever research you need.” _

Prompto jerked his gaze towards Ignis again, wide-eyed and silently pleading, but though Ignis went rigid, he didn’t speak to Prompto. “I would appreciate the opportunity.”

“Iggy,” Prompto whispered, and Luna whined a little. Prompto realized how tightly he was holding her, and rested her in his lap. “Is there any way you could send someone else?”

“I…” Ignis winced then, and turned towards him. “Darling, I have to - please understand.” 

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut against the burst of anger burning there. It hurt sometimes to think that Ignis would always put his duty above them, but then, he’d gone into this relationship knowing that Ignis put duty above everything. The situation had changed drastically, and when it came down to brass tacks, he wanted Noctis to live too. “You can’t… just get what you need and come back as fast as you can? The older Luna gets, the more chance she’ll remember that you were gone.”

“And I know you will never forget.” Ignis looked pained. “I will return as soon as I can, but this is an opportunity I can’t pass up.”

Prompto didn’t miss Claustra’s pitying looks, and couldn’t muster up the will to contradict Ignis. He remained silent for the rest of the phone call.

He couldn’t keep silent as he watched Ignis pack again:

“I hate this, you know.”

“I’m keenly aware,” Ignis replied as he plucked shirts from his trunk. “I don’t want to leave you behind, but this truly is the safest place for the two of you, and one of us should remain with her, no matter the circumstance.”

“You don’t even like me going on patrol,” Prompto muttered, watching Luna as she played on her play mat, furiously grappling with a textured rattle. “Can you even imagine what it’s like for me watching you go and knowing you could be gone for months-”

“It must pain you.” Ignis’ hands stilled, but he turned and ran his arms up Prompto’s sides to his shoulders. “I can’t even begin to imagine, and I don’t want you to get it in your head for even a moment that I wouldn’t rather remain. But - darling, please look at me.” 

Prompto bit his lip, and turned. Ignis couldn’t see him, but he could feel the angle of his body, and his brow knit when Prompto faced him. “Darling, I have to do whatever I can to make this world the best place you can live in. I promised you and Luna I would save the world for you. I knew then it might mean sacrificing our time together. If I could do everything all at once, then I would, but I am only one man, and our daughter needs you more than she’ll ever need me.”

Prompto frowned at that, and he took Ignis’ hand. “You know she loves you, right? And so do I. I’m just - I’m frustrated, okay?”

“We live in trying times, darling,” Ignis murmured, squeezing Prompto’s hand back. “Please endure just a little longer.” 

Prompto could argue, but he knew it would waste the last few hours he would have with Ignis before he left again.

Ignis departed with the next caravan out towards Caem, where Cid and Cor were sending guards to protect the farms near there, and where he would meet Aranea to get a ride across the ocean to Accordo. He promised to call whenever he could, as before. 

However, it was much less than it had been when he was in Lestallum. The connection was so much shakier in Altissia, and the city authorities preserved power by turning off the cell towers sometimes. Prompto was lucky to get one call a day, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Nothing but keep his head down and devote himself to his work in the bunker, and to Luna.

The days turned into weeks, and Prompto could see Luna growing all the time. There were lots of little things showing she was developing: she was starting to look when things moved near her, turning her head, reaching for things that weren’t close to her and always bringing them right to her mouth. She made tiny noises when Prompto talked to her - mostly nonsense, just softly mouthed little “ba”s and “pa”s, and squealed and laughed when pleased. He and Ignis had started spoon-feeding her soft solids, mashed carrots, pears, or peas, and Prompto promised her that she would be the happiest baby in the world when her Papa cooked for her. He loved watching her face change as she evaluated the flavor of whatever was in her mouth and trying to describe it for Ignis. She was starting to crawl. Prompto couldn’t take his eyes off of her sometimes.

Literally.

“Yo, who let the baby in here?!” 

Prompto had been elbow deep in cleaning out a turret recovered from the Keycatrich ruins when he heard an unfamiliar voice shouting. Cindy dropped her wrench in an instant and rushed out, as Prompto hurried to wipe the grease off of his arms. Luna was not on her blanket, and was sitting in front of a group of the trainees. Luna was grabbing the shoelaces of the one nearest her and had shoved them into her mouth before anyone could stop her.

“Lulu, don’t you dare!” Cindy scolded her as she snatched her off the ground. Luna shrieked, displeased at being denied what she obviously thought was an innovative new toy, and Cindy handed her off to Prompto as the trainee squared his shoulders.

“What are you doing with a baby in a military base?!”

“She’s the baby girl of someone who lives here!” Cindy snapped right back, “And if anyone in charge here finds out anyone messed with her, it’ll be their asses!”

“Why does it matter,” the trainee began to sneer, and Prompto ignored them, ears burning but a smile on his lips, and bounced Luna in his arms.

“You gotta stay with me, okay?” He told her softly, glancing suspiciously back at the soldiers. He had no idea what any of the strangers were capable of, so now that she was more mobile, he knew he’d have to guard her carefully.

What he hadn’t anticipated was what the constant influx of new people could bring in. 

A month after Ignis left, one of the trainees freshly arrived from Saxham Farms spiked a fever that left him bedridden and retching. A day after, his symptoms were determined to be a virus rather than the Starscourge, and five other men who’d come in on his caravan got the same disease. A day later, half of the bunker was sick, and that included Luna.

Luna’s fever nearly hit forty degrees, all of her delicate skin flushed pink from the heat. She couldn’t hold down even a little milk or formula. She cried nearly constantly, unable to rationalize her discomfort, the pain of the fever, the sickness in her belly, the tightness in her lungs. Prompto did everything he could for her, tending her around the clock - applying cool compresses to try to reduce her fever, tipping medicine into her slack, uncooperative mouth, rocking her in his arms and rubbing her back and singing her every song he knew to try to convince her to sleep, to just sleep.

When Ignis found out, the devastation in his voice nearly broke Prompto.

_ “She’s… she’s sick?” _

Prompto hadn’t put Luna down to take the call, instead just tucking the phone against his shoulder and ear and still rocking her in the chair. “Someone brought in some nasty fever. It’s awful, Iggy.”

_ “I… can I do anything? Do you need anything? I could - I could-” _

“You’re in Altissia,” Prompto sniffled, as Luna whimpered. “Here, let me put you on speaker for her.” He turned the phone’s sound on and put it on their bed, and Ignis spoke, plaintive and distraught:

_ “Lulu? Angel? I’m so sorry you’re feeling unwell.”  _ Luna didn’t turn her head for his voice, she drew her balled fists into her chest and whimpered. Prompto lost whatever gentle nonsense Ignis was trying to tell her, closing his eyes and tipping his head back, until there was a tap on his shoulder.

Cindy had crept in, her face pink too, but she shook her closed hand at him. “Fever breakers. Take ‘em.”

Prompto shook his head, his brain fluids swishing around. After all, fevers didn’t discriminate, and Prompto had started to feel ill a day after Luna had started to run a fever. “Cin, I can’t, they’ll make me sleepy. I gotta take care of Lulu.”

“Iris is feelin’ better, she can cuddle Lulu for a little while.” Cindy snapped her fingers. “You need’ta rest too.”

_ “Prompto?” _ Ignis sounded truly alarmed now.  _ “Darling? You, too?” _

Prompto grimaced, and spoke a little louder to make sure Ignis heard him. “M’fine, Ignis.” Yeah. Definitely. He couldn’t have a fever if he hadn’t had time to take his temperature, right? However, Ignis didn't hear the first part of the sentence, only his full name.

_ “You’re angry with me.” _ The disappointment in those words burned, and Prompto shook his head, but Cindy spoke up:

“He's been up with the baby for damn near three days and you ain't called in two.” Prompto flinched, but Cindy rambled on, “He's exhausted and everyone who ain't sick is too busy taking care of the ones that are to help, but we got help now.” She pushed his shoulder while still ranting at the phone. “Iris' fever broke. Cor'll be here in six hours. Tell your man to turn the baby over and sleep!"

_ "I need you to take care of yourself, darling,"  _ Ignis said instead, and Prompto hung his head.  _ "I need you to feel better. I won’t be able to live with myself like this. You can trust the others, they love her and you.”  _ There was a pause, a rustle of papers, and a sigh.  _ “I beg of you, I’d feed you the medicine myself if I were there.” _

Prompto groaned, but took the pills from Cindy. “Fine. Okay. I’ll… I’ll be okay, promise.”

_ “Thank you, dearest. I love you so…” _ Prompto stopped listening and popped the pills, as Cindy scooped up Luna and left with her still whimpering in her arms. He mumbled what he hoped came out as an “I love you,” and shut his eyes. 

The next thing Prompto properly knew, there was a hand holding his, and he winked one eye open to see Ignis at his bedside, one arm scooping Luna and holding her on his knee, and his fingers laced with Prompto’s. Prompto tried to sit up, and Ignis’ hold tightened.

“Are you awake, my love?” 

Prompto tried to speak, but his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. He had to choose his words carefully. "Iggy? How?" 

"I asked Aranea to bring me back straightaway after your call." Ignis stroked his thumb across Prompto's knuckles. "I decided I had quite enough to work with for the time being, and I was needed here. I came home." 

Prompto tried to say something else, but he was still feverish and sleep still pulled at him. "I… I…"

Ignis shushed him, as Luna fretted against Ignis' arm. "It's alright. Sleep. I’ll take care of the both of you.”

Prompto wanted to say more. He wanted to beg Ignis not to leave again, but couldn’t fight through the fog to say it. Instead, he just blinked back to sleep, relieved by Ignis’ hand in his.

* * *

Short excursions were more bearable. Ignis had to be away for a day or two sometimes, to go to Lestallum to meet with the council in person or to assist Gladio with a particularly difficult daemon encroachment. Trips to Lestallum became easier once Ignis managed to leverage Holly for a permanent residence, which would be available to any of the Royal retinue and their associates if they needed to be in Lestallum. Prompto was fine driving over to Lestallum for a few days, with Ignis in the passenger seat and Luna sucking on her own foot in her car seat. He could help with resupplies and take Luna to see her pediatrician while Ignis was meeting with the council. Going with Ignis made things much better.

They weren’t both allowed to go on missions that involved combat. If they knew they were headed into danger when they left Hammerhead, it would be one or the other, and Ignis was the default choice because Luna was still mostly dependent on Prompto. Prompto took guard duty in the towers sometimes, but it wasn’t until Luna was nearly ten months old that Prompto was asked to go on an away mission:

_ “A settlement near Ravatogh’s reported a lot of flyers. Seems the birds got tainted by the Scourge out there.”  _ Gladio’s gravelly tones spoke of exhaustion, as Prompto and Ignis sat in the living area of the bunker, Ignis on the floor with Luna and Prompto observing from the sofa with his phone on the table.  _ “Stuff that’s not on the ground is a challenge for me. I want Prompto out there with the big guns.” _

Ignis’ brow knit up at the request, but Prompto winced for a second, then shrugged. “Sure. I’ll ride out there with a unit of firearms specialists and handle it.”

_ “I owe you, man. Will Lulu be okay without you for a few?” _

“She’ll survive on formula and baby mash for a few days. I’ll pump as much as I can before I have to go.” Prompto shrugged and grimaced a little at the thought. “I’ll talk to Cid and Dustin, see who we can spare, and ride out tomorrow.”

Gladio’s smile came through.  _ “You’re a champ. Iggy, you’re on babysitting duty.” _

“Babysitting,” Ignis scoffed, “she’s my daughter, it’s called  _ parenting.” _

_ “Right,”  _ Gladio laughed, and the three of them exchanged farewells. Ignis’ face was pinched, but he shook his head,

“I can’t be upset. I knew this was an eventuality. I only ask that you be especially careful.” Ignis shifted over on the carpet to where Prompto was sitting, and Prompto bent down so Ignis could kiss his cheek. “You must return to us.” 

“Promise.” Prompto ran his thumb across the ring he wore. 

Prompto packed a small bag, essentials only, and the next morning, Ignis held Luna in his arms to see them off. However, after Prompto said his good-byes and kissed the both of them, as he turned to walk towards the truck, there was a horrible noise:

Luna  _ screamed. _ And Prompto felt it in his soul.

Prompto ran the five steps right back to her and scooped her from Ignis’ arms. “What’s wrong, angelface?” Luna wailed a moment longer, until she lifted her face and saw Prompto. Then, she buried her face against his shoulder and sobbed. Prompto clenched his jaw tight. Ignis uncomfortably cleared his throat:

“It seems she doesn’t want you to go.”

Prompto knew it. He could feel it. Luna knew him now, knew him as the first face she saw in the morning and the last thing she saw before she fell asleep. When she’d cried, an unnameable feeling had welled through him. He’d actually felt it in his chest. 

“I have to go, baby girl.” He petted her hair and hugged her, swaying her left and right. “Daddy has to be away for just a little, but I’ll be back.” 

“Da.” Her tiny fists clenched in his shirt, but they might as well have seized his heart. 

Tears had soaked his cheeks in a second. “Yes. Yes. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy has to go.” He tried to lift his hands to pry her off, but Ignis shushed him and easily scooped her back into his arms.

“Papa’s still here, darling.” 

“Da,” Luna repeated, then reached for Prompto, tiny hand frantically grasping. “Da! Da!” 

“She said ‘Da.’” Prompto sniffled. Ignis was already taking out a kerchief to dab his face dry. “Oh, gods-”

“I’ll talk to her the entire time you’re gone.” It was a promise, Prompto could see it in Ignis’ face. “She’ll learn another few words while you’re gone and she can surprise you when you get back. Won’t it be wonderful?”

“No, I want to be here, but-” Prompto swallowed thickly; he could see the eyes of the small retinue of Glaives waiting for him with mixed expressions of sympathy and raised eyebrows. “I… I told Gladio I’d do this. And we need to protect as many people as possible. So.” He took a step backwards, as Luna began to cry again. Ignis ran his palm down her back, but kept his face towards Prompto, their eyes meeting as Prompto walked backwards towards the car. “So I’ll be back soon. I love you both.”

“And we love you,” Ignis said softly. “Come back soon.”

Prompto called at every rest stop, when they made camp, and again when they were leaving. He heard Luna crying in the background of every phone call. 

_ “Separation anxiety shows just how much she’s developed,” _ Ignis remarked as Prompto waited for the Glaives to finish their bio-break in the parking lot of a convenience store.  _ “She recognizes us now.” _

“It’s going to make it all that much harder to leave her next time,” Prompto sighed, pacing back and forth in the parking lot. Three days away had left his chest sore in more ways than one - he’d pumped in the tent and sent what little he could express to the Armiger, but he just didn’t give a lot when he wasn’t around Luna. Now, listening to Luna sniffling in the background, he was feeling the urge and it sucked that he didn’t have time or energy to do anything about it. “I missed you guys so much. I can’t wait to see you again.”

_ “Then drive safe and true. We’ll be waiting for you.” _

Ignis greeted him with a warm embrace. Luna clutched onto him like she thought he’d disappear if she let go. Prompto never wanted to let her go again, though he already knew he would have to. 

* * *

Luna’s first birthday was celebrated at Hammerhead. Ignis made her a simple cake, and Prompto helped decorate it with slices of poached canned pears. They both helped her blow the candle out. 

Luna took her first steps holding Ignis’ hands, his legs straddled a little to be outside of hers, walking towards Prompto in the living space of the bunker. She began to pull herself up using tables or peoples’ knees, always curious for a higher vantage. She quickly learned to only grab onto people who knew her.

Her teeth came in a few weeks after her birthday, and she spent virtually ten days straight, hardly sleeping and refusing to eat, whining and chewing on shoes and furniture because teething rings just didn’t do it for her. Prompto nearly reached the end of his rope, but he endured when those first few pearly whites peeked through. 

She began to escape her crib to crawl into her fathers’ bed almost nightly after she’d mastered walking and climbing. Prompto was aware when she thumped onto the bed, tucking herself between them. His momentary panic deflated into awe at seeing her cuddled next to him, and while he’d never intended on letting her sleep in their bed, he didn’t have the heart to dislodge her. Waking up to a leaky diaper wasn’t fun, but Prompto only let himself complain about it after he’d taken the wet sheets to the laundry machine in the garage to change them out, well out of Luna’s earshot. 

The worst that came of their inadvertent co-sleeping was that Prompto’s occasional night terrors were made worse by an unexpected body in his bed. The first instance was the worst.

Prompto woke in a haze, still seeing the inside of the facility on his eyelids, feeling the cold of the metal walls and the chill of the Niflheim wastelands. There was a weight on his chest. There was something on him. There was something _on_ him _it was going to kill him_ he had to _flee_ **_run RUN!_**

Prompto YELLED, loud enough to wake the entire bunker,  _ loud enough that he heard himself without his hearing aids in, _ then scrambled from the bed, tossing everything away. He fled, feet carrying him without him even thinking about it, to the bathroom. He threw the lock and pressed himself against the door, gasping for every breath as the memories dragged at him, threatening to pull him under. He squeezed his eyes shut against it, gripping at his head as he warred with his own mind between “it’s not real” and  _ “how do you know” _ until, some unknowable stretch of time later, he heard  _ someone _ tapping on the bathroom door. He heard his breath - until he saw the first note slide under the door in Ignis’ unsteady scrawl.

_ “Luna and I are waiting for you.”  _

In his state, he couldn’t remember who Luna was, only guilt over the princess he’d failed to save. Where was his baby? Did he have a baby? Or was it just another clone-

Another note came in under the door.  _ “Luna is asking for her Da. She’s upset. Luna hates when you go away. So do I, my sunshine.” _

Prompto inhaled sharply, but before he could begin to decode all that, another note slid under:  _ “Do you remember the night we made up after you told me you were expecting? You have to come out so we can take Luna to all those wonderful places.” _

Then, another note came under the door, but the paper was only covered with strange marks and dashes. Prompto frowned at this one, and opened the door to see Ignis with Luna sitting on his lap, with Luna having seized the pen and pad. She was angrily jabbing at the paper - Prompto could see her mouth moving, forming “Da, Da, Da” over and over - then tore the paper and shoved it at Prompto. Ignis was clearly resigned to his fate, smiling despite his knit brow and the exhaustion in his eyes, until Prompto tapped his shoulder.

“I’m back, Iggy.”

Ignis smiled and took the case with Prompto’s hearing aids from his sleep shirt’s pocket, and Prompto put one in to hear Ignis say, “She saw what I was doing and took the pen from my hand to help.”

This was real. They were real.

Prompto ruffled Luna’s hair, turning blonde strands into a fluffy bird’s nest. She giggled and swatted at his hand, then crawled into his lap and slung her arms around his neck. “I’m here, baby girl.” Then, he took Ignis’ hand. “We’re all here together.”

* * *

Ignis only took one more extended trip away before Luna’s second birthday - a return trip to Altissia. Weskham and Claustra wanted to consult with him again, as well as to let him review anything he might have missed on the previous trip, and Aranea was offering to escort him into some of the deeper dungeons in Accordo and Tenebrae. She’d been going in with her people to deal with daemon nests, but she’d noticed some strange writing on the walls and had offered to help him translate it in case there was any valuable information. 

Prompto still didn’t like it, especially knowing Ignis was going into daemon’s nests. However, he also knew he couldn’t stop him, and it was at least good to know Aranea would be with him. 

Prompto helped Ignis pack, and told Luna in gentle tones, “Papa will only be away for a little while.”

“I must be back for a certain someone’s birthday,” Ignis added, and kissed her cheek. Luna smiled, and mumbled something, cheeks blushing.

That concerned Prompto; Luna hadn’t been learning language. She grumbled and said short words, but hadn’t learned more than a few simple words. She had no volume control. Specifically, she rarely spoke above a whisper, though she still cried at what Prompto figured was about the average volume for a baby. He’d asked her pediatrician about it, who reassured him that Luna could speak, as she did still call for “Da” and “Pa,” and she now seemed to understand when she was being spoken to and could take simple directions, but she may have just been a slow bloomer when it came to language. Prompto could be patient, and Ignis was certain she’d be a chatterbox like Prompto when all was said and done. 

“Just be careful, okay?” Prompto kissed Ignis on the forehead, and he lifted his face to let Prompto pepper him with kisses. “Gonna miss you.”

“And I, you, every moment.” Ignis tipped his mouth up to meet Prompto’s, and Luna giggled and smacked her lips to blow Ignis a kiss too.

They saw Ignis off the next morning. Luna sat in Prompto’s arms - so heavy, when had she gotten so heavy? - and watched as Ignis boarded Aranea’s ship. Aranea had come down to say hello and to fluff Luna’s hair, then walked Ignis to the ramp. Ignis turned over his shoulder to wave to Luna, and Luna waved her tiny hand back at him. Prompto barely heard her murmur:

“Bye-bye.” 

“He’ll be back as soon as he can,” Prompto told her, and squeezed her tight. 

It wasn’t easy to be away, but there was so very much beyond their gates that needed them though Prompto’s entire world was right in his hands. However, they always promised to come back, and they each believed each other’s promises.


	3. The Terrible Twos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna has grown from an infant into a child, and as she tries to explore more of her world, Prompto has to do his best to keep up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter!! The holidays caught up with me. Thank you for your patience. 
> 
> Warnings for mentions of death in this chapter.

**3: The Terrible Twos**

Prompto somehow felt like time had gone too fast and yet too slow. Noctis had been gone more than two years. The world had been dark for two years. Somehow, Luna was two already. 

Luna often toddled around the bunker after Prompto, following him like a fond duckling. She held his and Ignis’ hands tight on their visits to Lestallum. She still didn’t talk much except for small, whispered words and whines or crying, but she could count on her fingers when Prompto said the numbers and, when Prompto tried teaching her letters by pointing at them on a mat, she could identify the entire alphabet. She was smart as a whip, of that Ignis was certain. Talcott and Iris played with her in the yard when they weren’t taking lessons or helping around the training yard. Gladio praised just how big she’d gotten every time he saw her after being away. Luna was growing up from a baby into an actual child. 

It was wild.

“Two years old,” Gladio chuckled as he slapped Prompto on the back, the two of them bent over Gladio’s motorcycle and attaching a sidecar. “Can hardly believe it. You ready for the terrible twos?”

“Ugh, what’s that even mean?” Prompto, groaning, grasped out for a wrench, which Gladio passed to him.

“Oh, you know. Kids are rotten at that age. They start feeling their wild oats, finding their boundaries.” Gladio shrugged. “You’re gonna have to be tough on her, especially in times like this.”

“It’s going to be hard to be tough on her. She’s delicate, y’know?” Prompto slid back and dusted his hands. “Life’s hard enough without coming down on her.”

“It’s like, keeping her from touching a hot stove. You gotta do what you can to keep her safe.” Without waiting for Prompto to respond, Gladio kicked the hitch on the motorcycle. “All hooked up?”

“Think we’re golden, yeah.” Prompto sighed, then turned to where Ignis and Luna were sitting on the sidewalk playing pattycake. “Iggy, Lulu, we’re about to head out!”

Luna hopped up to her feet, and Ignis followed suit, as she bounded over to where Prompto was standing. He knelt and opened his arms, and Luna ran to him and flung herself to his chest. He lifted her, gave her a light toss in the air, and caught her, then set her down. “There’s my baby girl. Daddy’ll be back in two days, okay? Just two sleeps.” He held up two fingers, but she closed her hand over his and shook her head. “Promise, kiddo. Daddy loves you.” He kissed her cheek and fluffed her hair, and she tried to smooth it back down - she was getting his cowlick already. Gods, did he love her. 

“Your turn, Iggy.” Prompto turned to him, then seized his suspender and tugged him close. Chuckling, Ignis let himself be led forward and pulled in, and kissed Prompto a few times. “You know I’d toss you too.”

“I’d probably love it in retrospect.” Ignis’ lips were smiling against his mouth. “Be safe, my love.”

Gladio was combing his fingers through Luna’s hair. “Uncle Gladdy’ll take care of your Daddy, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Bye-bye.” 

Prompto got into the sidecar, and Gladio mounted the bike. Luna held Ignis’ hand and waved as Gladio cranked the motor and drove towards the gates. Prompto shut his eyes and tried to relax as they sped out into the night, putting the conversation from his mind for now.

Terrible twos, his ass. How could his Luna ever be terrible?

* * *

Two days later, Gladio and Prompto staggered back into the bunker in what the clocks and the faintest gradient between day and night in the sky told them was the middle of the night. The motorcycle had been left in the garage with a post-it apologizing to Cid and Cindy for the repairs needed - they’d ridden hard since finishing the mission, neither one wanting to stop before reaching home base. Now that they’d arrived, all Prompto wanted to do was sleep until the sun rose.

“Just half an hour,” he muttered as he staggered to one of the sofas in the sitting room. Gladio grunted and flopped onto one of the chairs. “Sleep here half an hour, then go wash up, change, and get in bed.”

“Do whatever you want.” Gladio smeared a hand down his face. “I never want to sleep again.” 

“Yeah.” Shaking his head, Prompto kicked his boots off. “But I have to.” 

His eyes slipped shut, but before he could actually drift off, there was an impact on his chest, and he grunted and opened his eyes right back up. There was Luna, beaming huge and grasping his shirt.

“Da,” she murmured, and hugged him tight. 

Gods, Prompto loved her. He couldn’t look at her right now.

“Hey, sweetie.” Prompto gently eased her back and sat her on his lap. “Daddy’s so happy to see you, but I’m so tired. Daddy needs one more sleep, okay?” He reached for his hearing aids. “Can you let Daddy have one sleep before we play?”

Luna shook her head, sticking her lower lip out. 

“Daddy needs to sleep,” he repeated, fingers still cupping the edges of his hearing aids. “I’m taking my ears out. We can play in the morning.”

“Lulu,” Gladio muttered, and patted his chair. “Come sit with Uncle.” 

Luna knit her brow up, but hopped off of Prompto’s lap and toddled over to Gladio, who immediately scooped her up. Prompto removed his hearing aids, put them in their case, and threw himself down onto the sofa.

He didn’t, couldn’t hear Gladio talking to Luna as he drifted off. “What do you wanna do, Princess? Uncle’s wide awake…” 

Ten minutes later, Prompto was still fast asleep when the music filled the room, raucous, with a heavy beat. Not two minutes later, Ignis stormed into the living area in his pajamas. “What is that noise?!”

“Hey, Iggy!” Gladio had Luna’s hands in his and was swinging them around. “Me and Lulu are having a dance party.”

“A danc-” Ignis shook off his shock. “At this unearthly hour?”

“What’s the difference?” Gladio twirled Luna around. “She woke up when she heard me and Prompto come in and wanted to play.” He gave her a little toss, and she squealed with glee when he caught her. “I’m not saying no.”

“We’re trying to keep her on a schedule!” Ignis scoffed and circled to find Gladio’s phone, the source of the music. “I heard the music from our room and while my ears are more sensitive, you might wake up others-” He groped out for the phone, but as soon as Ignis touched the screen, Gladio whirled on him, set Luna down in front of him, and covered Luna’s ears.

“Do you know what the two of us have been doing the past two days?” His false cheer was shaded with bitter grit. “They called us out to a settlement for a daemon infestation. Turns out the infestation  _ was _ the settlement. People were starting to turn in their houses, locking their crazed relatives in closets while the scourge was spreading on their skin. Most of them had watched their kids turn, vanish out of their clothes, and run off into the night. They asked us to keep them from hurting anyone else.” Gladio’s hands tightened on Luna’s ears, and Ignis could hear his forced smile turning like an overwound screw. “So you know what we did? We did what you do to daemons. We waited for them to turn and we dealt with them, one by one.” Ignis heard him choke out a sob. “We’d been talking to some of them not six hours before, they were all keeping their distance and begging us not to come close ‘cause they knew what would happen, and they just wanted to die knowing they didn’t kill anyone else." Gladio paused, bowing his head, then shaking it. "Prompto had to kill a teenager as she was turning to a Naga before our eyes. He put his gun to her head and told her it’d be just like a shot at the doctor’s, just a little prick, and then it’d be over. Two hundred people who used to be human. And we had to kill them.” He wrapped his arms around Luna, as Prompto tossed and moaned on the sofa. “And _ she _ was so happy to see us. Let me play with my niece, Ignis.” 

Ignis had stilled, but finally just tapped the button on the side of the phone to turn the volume down. “Just ten more minutes, alright? Let’s not keep Luna awake all hours.” 

Ignis then sat beside Prompto, feeling the sweat in his hair and how he shivered at his touch. “My poor darling,” he whispered, under the thrum of the music. “Let’s hope things get a little less terrible for you.” Ignis could still hear Gladio and Luna dancing near him, chaotic and carefree, and simply stroked Prompto’s hair until his breathing evened out.

* * *

They’d been lucky for two years. The slow degradation had been present, but the effects hadn’t really taken hold until now. However, time had worn down their defenses and the slapdash military and leadership hadn’t been able to shore them back up fast enough before they finally crossed the failure point.

Lights that had been in danger were failing, under constant threat of attack and now going out before Cor could dispatch a crew to protect them from the onslaught. Hunters did what they could, but more than a few times, the Glaives would arrive to find a ghost town gone dark and piles of empty clothing between the shelters. Ignis and Monica were trying to track the population by having reports done around Eos once a month, and the downward trend was noticeable. People were dying much, much faster than new babies were being born.

Worse, supplies were starting to run short. Limits on power usage were limiting factory production, and supply chains were constantly disrupted by daemon attacks. The squabbles over things like toilet paper and socks in the Lestallum market made Prompto’s head buzz, and the best he could do was quietly complain to himself as he tried to get his own supplies.

He was lucky to find a medicinist still willing to compile his HRT now that he’d finally stopped breastfeeding, not when so many of the pharmacies were overloaded trying to keep up with the explosion of disease in the overcrowded city. 

Worst of all, food was starting to run short. Growing and harvesting was becoming harder, and though Cor had led multiple raids into the Crown City’s abandoned shops to reclaim abandoned dry goods, he was starting to meet unsurpassable roadblocks. Insomnia was getting too thick with nasty daemons, and the areas Cor and his team could still access were virtually stripped bare. The Lestallum leadership had instituted a fairly austere rationing system - enough so that every member of a family could eat a reasonable portion of starches, measured amounts of preserved vegetables and fruits, and meager amounts of meat. Farms were struggling to continue growing food, and while Ignis had worked with Sania and other scientists to create greenhouses out of former imperial bases, construction was slow, made slower by daemon attacks and disruptions in the supply chain. 

Prompto could handle the rationing. He understood it. He would sometimes even trim his portions to make sure there was extra in the bunker in case of visitors. However, the trouble was Luna, who was completely weaned and on solid foods. 

Luna was growing and learning to think for herself, it seemed. She was still slow to say more than one or two whispered words at a time, but there was a great deal going on in her mind. She would refuse to wear some of her clothes on a whim, and retrieve what she wanted if she didn’t like what Prompto had picked. She would put away toys she didn’t want and find what she did if she didn’t like what was offered. Prompto was fine with her picking and choosing things, it was fine that she wanted her independence. However, the problem was that she couldn’t pick what she wanted to eat because the choices were “what we have” and “nothing.” 

Preserved vegetables were bitter, and Luna would whine and pick at the greens on her plate. The protein, whatever they were lucky enough to serve, was kept plain and simple, because that was all they could do with the pantry supplies they had, and Luna would eat it slowly and disinterestedly. The only thing Luna would reliably eat was rice or oatmeal, and her favorite things in the world happened to be the hardest to acquire.

Prompto remembered the last time Luna had actually wanted to eat something, and it was the last time Ignis had returned from Altissia. He’d apparently stopped in Tenebrae on the way back, and brought out a small box of ulwaat berries. He rinsed one off and popped it into her mouth with nothing but a gentle, “Say ‘aah,’ angel.” She’d bitten down, and her eyes had gone huge and wide, and she gasped with delight and opened her hands and mouth.

“Pease,” she’d whispered, little hands reaching out, and Prompto’s heart melted for her all over again. 

Luna loved fruit. Luna loved yogurt. Especially yogurt sweetened with fruit. Luna just loved sweets in general.

Milk and sugar were in short supply, so Luna would go without, and she hated it. 

Mealtimes were becoming difficult as Luna discovered that she could just refuse to eat. Prompto tried everything he could think of to convince her to eat what was put in front of her:

“You want to be like the grown-ups, right? Like Daddy and Papa?” He’d take a big bite of a pickled turnip, and Luna would furiously shake her head. 

“It’s good for you,” Ignis would insist as he speared some boiled cabbage and extended it towards her mouth. “You’ll grow big and strong if you eat your veggies.” Luna would pull her knees in and hide her head between her legs. 

“Please, honey, I get so worried when you don’t eat.” Prompto knew he was trying to guilt-trip his toddler but he had no idea what else to do. There wasn’t anything else nourishing he could feed her, and if there was nothing to eat but foods she hated, she just wouldn’t eat.

Throwing food out wasn’t an option, not when there was so much uncertainty as to how much food there would be the next day or the next. If Luna sat in her booster chair and whined all night rather than eat, Prompto would just have to wrap her meal up and put it away in vain hopes she might be willing to eat it the next day.

The only thing that worked was bribery. Prompto managed to get his hands on a tiny reserve of fruit preserves and yogurt, and he would prepare a little bowl with every meal where he knew Luna’s least favorite vegetables and put it in plain view - creamy yogurt, a dollop of preserves on top, and a teeny tiny spoon. Prompto demonstrated - he took a little bite of turnip, then gave himself a spoonful of the yogurt. “Yummmmm,” he hummed, licking his lips, as Luna’s eyes went wide.

She shrieked and grabbed at the yogurt, but Prompto took it right out of her reach. Ignis grimaced from his place at the table as Luna cried. “You have to eat the veggies to have dessert,” Prompto said, firm and stern though his heart broke. He demonstrated by eating another bite of turnip, then took another bite of yogurt. Luna tipped her head back and cried, the loudest noise she’d ever made, and Prompto had to hold his breath. The others at the table with them looked over, but though Cid shook his head and Cindy pulled a face, nobody interrupted. 

Finally - an eternity (about five minutes of crying) later - Luna caught her breath and settled down. Prompto offered her the turnip, and she grudgingly took it. Instantly, Prompto had a spoonful of yogurt for her, which she took - then scrunched her face up in an instant.

“Lemme guess, the turnip and yogurt taste bad together, right?” Prompto sat down, grinning. “Tell you what - if you can eat the whole piece, I’ll give you the bowl.”

Prompto watched as Luna begrudgingly ate each morsel of turnip, then held her hands out. “Dinner before dessert,” he said as he put the spoon and cup in her tiny hands, and she ate greedily like she was starving. Prompto rubbed her back, shaking his head. He could see nearly everyone else’s expressions of pity or disabused amusement, and he looked over to them, sighing, “Let’s hope dinnertime isn’t always this dramatic.”

“Someday,” Ignis said, as much to himself as to her, “I’ll be able to cook for you the way a princess deserves.” 

Prompto knew that he wasn’t supposed to bribe Luna with food, or make it a reward. The baby books said so. However, he also knew those books weren’t written during an apocalypse, and he would do whatever he had to if it meant she would eat. 

* * *

The lack of light was a struggle in more ways than one. There were more daemons all the time, and Gladio and Cor couldn’t train people to fight them off fast enough. The daemons were unorganized, but they were hostile towards any human settlements or activity. While Ignis and Gladio were called out whenever a mob of daemons were seen gathering up near an outpost, or when their numbers were getting high, Prompto was one of the ones most predominantly in charge of defending Hammerhead’s perimeter. When Ignis was away - off in Lestallum or Altissia, meeting with the council, working on his research, helping investigate reports of strong daemons, or whatever was needed of him in the rest of the world - Prompto was Hammerhead's ace. Tonight, Ignis was in Lestallum, and Prompto was fighting a passel of Iron Titans.

The Iron Titans always went for the lights. Prompto had a feeling they knew that if they took out the lights, no amount of fences or barbed wire would keep them away from Hammerhead. He couldn’t let that happen.

Luckily, his heavy weapons had something to say about that. He wore ear protection now as he blasted away, desperate to keep the massive, hulking beasts at bay. He had an earpiece under one of the earmuffs so he could hear any commands from Cid or from the watchtowers, but he didn’t need anyone to tell him to destroy anything within a mile of hurting his baby girl. 

The last one he took out that morning was within twenty feet of the fence. Prompto sweated heavily under his armor as he watched it collapse back into miasma, then tapped on his earpiece.

“It’s Prompto. Clear on the north side.”

_ “Good work, kid,”  _ Cid gruffed in response.  _ “Come on home, the fellas in the lookout are giving the all clear.” _

“Least it’s not far to walk.” He chuckled and about-faced for the gates, waving to signal the lookouts as he came into the light.

He was back in fighting shape, for sure, and he had to be. Every time he broke out his guns, he challenged himself - fight a little harder, move faster, finish quicker. Don’t give the enemy a second to get close. He had too much to lose, and he knew he’d need to be ready when the time came to take back Insomnia. 

He also had a lot to protect. Hammerhead would stand until sunrise, or he’d die trying to make it so. 

Cindy wasn’t a warrior, and didn’t want to be. However, she did take a certain amount of pride in doing what she could. She made sure there was ammunition ready near the turrets, extra weapons available in case of jams or emergencies, and she volunteered to watch Luna and comfort her in case she woke and found neither of her fathers there. Prompto returned to his room in the bunker to find Cindy propped in his doorway in her pajama pants, arms folded, still watching Lulu in her little bed. 

“She doing okay?”

“Stayed sound asleep the whole time,” Cindy confirmed, though Prompto detected a note of apprehension. He studied her face, then leaned around her. Luna was sprawled out under one of Iris’ crocheted blankets, her thumb tucked in her mouth, a few of her plush toys around her. Sleeping like nothing had happened. 

“Good.” He smiled. Cindy didn’t.

“I was thinkin',” she said instead. “It was awful loud. That thing got close tonight, I practically felt the walls shakin’ from all the ruckus.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Prompto groaned and rubbed his brow. “That big guy was hella aggro.”

“Yeah. Just. It was real loud, y’know?” Cindy jerked her face away from Prompto. “And Lulu stayed asleep the whole time. Didn’t even notice.”

Prompto realized what Cindy wasn’t saying, and his heart dropped into his stomach. “You don’t think she heard it.” Cindy bit her lower lip, and Prompto shook his head. “No, Cin, I know she can hear, she can hear me.” He turned towards her bed and spoke just a little louder. “Lulu, Daddy’s back!”

Luna didn’t even stir. Cindy squeezed onto his arm and pulled him away from the door.

“No, Prompto - listen.” Prompto’s heart was racing, head spinning, but Cindy held his eyes, urging, “She can hear, okay? We know she can. She loves dancing when we play music, she talks to ya a little when ya talk to her, she knows when we’re talkin’ to her. Just. She may not be able to hear as well as she ought’a.” She leaned closer. “I think y’ought’a get her checked out. If ya start doin’ somethin’ about it now, it’ll make it easier as she gets older.” She patted his cheek. “It’s gonna be okay. Even if there is somethin’ up with her ears, you do just fine, and so will she. I know it.”

“I know,” Prompto echoed, “I know, I - I should - I need to call Iggy.” He peeled himself away from her and staggered back towards their room.

Luna was still laid out, soundly asleep, as Prompto grabbed up his phone. He hit Ignis’ number on the speed dial, but as it rang, he kept trying, striving for evidence of a denial. “Luna? Lulu? Baby Lu, can’t you hear Daddy?” Luna didn’t stir, turning in her sleep. Then, the line clicked.

_ “Darling? What time is it in Hammerhead?”  _ Ignis sounded exhausted. Prompto hated what he was about to do.

“It’s real late, I’m sorry I woke you, but - Iggy. I think our baby girl is deaf.” 

There was a beat of silence. Then, a slow exhale.  _ “I had worried as much.” _ Prompto flinched - how could he be the last to know?! - but Ignis spoke with calm.  _ “In the morning, I’ll arrange for an appointment with an audiologist, or a pediatrician that specializes in hearing. See if Cor or Cid can escort you here to meet me, and we’ll all come home together afterwards.” _

“Okay,” Prompto sniffled - when had the tears started? - and gripped the phone tighter. “I am so, so-”

_ “Darling, no. No apologies. You’ve done nothing wrong. We’ll handle this, same as we’ve handled everything until now. I love you both. Get some sleep.” _

“Love you too,” Prompto mumbled, wiping his face. The line clicked, as Ignis ended the call, and Prompto threw his phone aside and pitched himself across the bed. His armor sat heavily on his chest, weighing him down. 

Sometimes, the darkness that Prompto struggled with most was that which had been there before the sun had gone away. 

* * *

Cor volunteered to drive out to Lestallum with Prompto and Luna, saying he was due to check in at Meldacio as it was and without a word about Prompto’s reason for going. The next morning, the two of them set out with Luna in her booster seat and Iris in the back with her, reading her picture books and singing baby songs as if she weren’t sneaking out to Meldacio while Gladio was away. Prompto and Cor traded drivers and dealt with the daemons along the road, but not a word more than they had to. The only thing Cor said was spoken as he parked, as Prompto hung up from leaving Ignis a voicemail:

“Hey.” Cor touched Prompto’s arm, then held his sleeve. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Just take care of her.”

The same sentiments as Ignis. Prompto was able to make himself believe it just as much.

Prompto had called Ignis a few times from the road to update them on where they were. Ignis picked up a few calls, reassuring Prompto each time they spoke, but a few times, Prompto ended up leaving messages for him. However, Ignis had clearly timed their arrival out, because by the time Prompto had gotten Luna out of her seat and the baby bag on his shoulder, Ignis had appeared in the parking lot, waiting at the top of the steps with his cane in hand. His heart panged as he realized Ignis was listening for them, but likely couldn’t hear them above all the noise of the overcrowded city. 

Had Luna ever heard Ignis’ voice? He wasn’t as loud as Prompto, how could he know?

Luna still recognized Ignis when she saw him, extending her little hand to touch him. He took her hand, then got down and kissed her on the cheek, and waved hello. “Hello, my angel.” He scooped her up into his arms and kissed him on the nose, and she touched his face.

“Pa,” she whispered with a huge smile, and he gave her a squeeze, then put her back down. 

“Come, I’ve got stew in a crock pot in our room.” Ignis smiled reassuringly and took Prompto by the hand. Prompto swallowed and held Luna’s hand, and she walked happily at his side, hopping between sidewalk tiles under the bright lights shining overhead. 

She didn’t know anything was wrong, did she? She just thought she was on a road trip to see her Papa. Prompto hated knowing otherwise. 

That night, in the tiny Lestallum flophouse barely bigger than their bunk room in Hammerhead, Ignis treated Luna like the princess she was. He fed Luna a stew so tasty she didn’t pick out the vegetables or whine even a little. He played music on his phone and danced with her in the tiny space between the flophouse’s sofa and bed, his fingers in her hands as she swung her arms and spun around, and when the hour grew late, he sat her on his lap and had Prompto read to her from a storybook. Prompto read loud and clear, saying every word as clearly as he could in hopes she would hear. 

(After all, if she couldn’t, it was his fault.)

Ignis held Prompto in bed until he fell asleep, but Prompto watched Luna in the trundle bed, the gentle rise and fall of her chest and her thumb tucked in her mouth. He drifted listlessly in the empty hours as the lights of Lestallum waxed and waned, the guilt as loud as anything he’d ever heard, echoing in his mind.

He almost wished Ignis were scolding him. It was better than pretending everything was alright. 

Ignis had secured an appointment with an audiologist, and he sat with his hand on Prompto’s knee as the doctor introduced himself to Luna with loud, slow, simple words and a big wave of his hand. She waved back, bending his fingers. He spoke more quietly to Ignis and Prompto, asking what caused them to believe her to have hearing issues.

“Me.” Prompto pushed his overgrown hair behind his ears to show his hearing aids. “She was inside me when I got my ear injury.”

“Prompto experienced fairly serious aural trauma while carrying.” Ignis’ hold on his knee tightened. “I believe you were around thirty-three weeks pregnant.” 

The doctor, mercifully, didn’t comment. Instead, he turned back to Luna. Prompto fidgeted through the examination, the doctor explaining everything he would do before he did it, peering into her ears with a light and a scope, using a swab on the outside of the ear to test the responsiveness of the tiny hairs. He showed her his big headphones, and explained the rules of the test. Prompto remembered this test. He remembered the doctor he'd seen writing the rules down for him. He remembered hearing nearly nothing.

Luna looked tiny with the big earphones on, heavy on her little head. However, she raised her hands a few times as the doctor pressed buttons on a console and took notes. He ran the test a few times, as Prompto's heart kept thudding in his chest. Ignis kept a hand on his knee the whole time, calm and sedate.

Finally, the doctor told them, "It's hard to determine due to her age and potential for limited comprehension, but it seems she's at least partially deaf in both ears, with mildly reduced perception. I'd like her to begin wearing hearing aids to see if that helps improve her overall perception of sound, but we'll need to retest yearly to calibrate just how much assistance she needs.”

Prompto had nearly run then. Ignis' hand on his leg was the only thing grounding him. He wished he could sink into the earth like melted snow. 

It made sense. Luna’s delayed speech was likely due to limited hearing keeping her from fully understanding all the words being said to her. She whispered because she didn’t know how loud or quiet she was being. No wonder she slept through daemon attacks. 

As they waited for the doctor to finish putting in the order for the hearing aids, Prompto held Luna in his lap tight, stroking her hair as she played with the stuffed rabbit Ignis had brought in the diaper bag. However, despite neither of them saying anything, Ignis seemed to sense what Prompto was holding back. “It’s going to be alright,” he told him softly.

“I… it…” Prompto tangled his fingers into her hair and sighed. “How can we know that? We don’t know just how bad it is yet, and might not for a few more years. All we know is that because of me-”

“Darling.” Ignis’ hand tightened on Prompto’s thigh. “Do you fault me for my blindness?”

Prompto’s throat closed. 

“It was something I had to adjust to, certainly, but you don’t think it a failing that, in the service of my King and Country, I lost my vision, do you?” Ignis leaned forward, facing Prompto, and Prompto shrank against the flimsy plastic chair and held Luna a little tighter.

“Babe, no.”

“Likewise, I don’t think your deafness is a failing of yours. I don’t think the actions you took were wrong. There is nothing wrong with you.” Ignis pursed his lips. “And there is nothing wrong with our Luna, either.” Prompto squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head, as Ignis’ hand ran down his back. “We will need to make a few small adjustments, like I have to my blindness and you to your deafness. However, because we know about it, we can begin early.” The chair scraped the ground as Ignis turned to face Prompto. “We’ll have the hearing aids, certainly. Can you think of more we can do to make her life easier? I’ll want to begin working on her reading comprehension, certainly.”

“I.” Prompto swallowed. “I’m going to learn sign language. And I’m going to teach Luna. That way, if she does have trouble learning to talk, we’ll be able to communicate with her.”

Ignis gasped. “Darling, a brilliant idea. I’ll do my best to learn as well.” 

“If anyone can, it’s you.” Prompto turned Luna in his lap and smiled at her. “Hey baby girl, we’re gonna do everything we can to make things work for you.”

“Da,” she whispered, and patted his nose. 

There was nothing wrong with Luna, Prompto told himself. He loved her no less. 

He didn’t love her any less with her hearing aids in. When they returned to the doctor’s office a few days later to test them out, and the doctor turned them on, her face lit up like she’d seen a rainbow for the first time. Prompto, too, remembered the enlightenment he’d felt when he’d turned on his makeshift aid after first losing his hearing, the joy at hearing his friends’ voices again. Luna was hearing them for the first time. 

Prompto wished he could have every conversation he’d ever tried to have with her over again. However, the joy in her eyes made starting over worth it.

“How’s it feel, honey?” Prompto crouched down in front of her, knee to the parquet tile of the doctor’s office floor, and Luna gasped.

“Da?” Surprised by her own voice, she clapped her hands over her mouth. Prompto laughed and scooped her up.

“How’s that? This is what the world sounds like.” He lifted her towards Ignis. “Say hello, Papa!”

Ignis smiled wryly and took her from Prompto, swinging her up in the air. “Hallo, angel! How does the world sound now?”

From the curiosity and wonder in Luna’s face, Prompto was certain it sounded wonderful. 

Prompto just feared whatever terrible thing might come next. 


	4. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna grows and learns about the world around her, coming to understand more and more of everything around her even as things change. Prompto and Ignis, too, learn how to best handle their child as they come to understand her.

**4: Learning**

Whenever Prompto wasn’t defending the bunker or training new recruits, on a rare trip out to Meldacio or Lestallum or even out in the field with Gladio, he was doing one of two things: teaching or learning.

After Luna’s deafness was diagnosed, everyone in the bunker committed to learning at least a little sign language. Prompto would sit studying the sign language books for hours, practicing the motions. He’d watch videos from sign language instructors on Ignis’ laptop. He’d sit with Luna, teaching her and saying the words, slow and clear. Luna quickly began to pick it up too, able to sign little things like “Dad,” “hungry,” “need toilet,” more and more after each lesson. However, Prompto wasn’t going to stop there. 

He was going to learn more and get better, enough to have full conversations in sign with her if that was how communicating would be easiest for her. He would always sit her down after he’d finished a book and began to practice each sign with her, saying the word aloud and demonstrating.

Nothing was more satisfying than the first time he sat down with her in their corner of the common room and signed: _“Are you ready?”_

And Luna, sitting cross-legged on her little pillow, beamed back at him and signed, _“Yes please!”_

Prompto had to teach Ignis by signing against his hand, able to create the same signs Luna used most often so she would learn to do the same and Ignis would recognize it. Everyone else just borrowed the books after Prompto was done with them.

Soon, everyone had a sign-name. Prompto would help assign them so Luna could easily indicate who she was talking about. “Uncle Gladdy” was a G that turned into a flower, and “Auntie Iris” was an I and a fist. Cid was a C and a wrench, and Cindy, a C and a steering wheel. “Papa” and “Daddy” were each just the sign for “father” that turned into an I or a P, respectively. Everyone seemed to like their name, though Cor managed to look a little embarrassed when he found out Prompto had assigned him the name “Marshal Lion.” However, he was still willing to learn enough sign language to say “hello” to her when he came to visit Hammerhead. 

Gladio was the most enthusiastic about learning to sign. He didn’t express disappointment about Luna’s deafness for even a moment when Prompto explained what had happened. He just bit his lip, put his music on a little louder when he went to dance with her, and made sure to look her in the eyes when he talked to her. Then, when he left, took two of the sign language books with him. When he returned, it was with the loaners and more books on sign language and tactics for raising a hearing-impaired child. Then, when Luna came to greet him, he got down on his knees and held out his hands to sign:

_“Hello, I missed you.”_

Luna, eyes wide, lifted her hands and motioned back: _“Me too!”_ Then she threw her arms around him, and he scooped her up and hugged her to his chest with one arm. Gladio grinned over her shoulder at Prompto.

“I’m teaching all the guys. It’ll be useful when we’re all out there, we can sign to each other when we can’t hear each other as easily.” He signed to Prompto behind Luna’s back: _“Keep your skinny butt out of trouble.”_

The only downside was that, as she learned to sign, Luna had virtually stopped speaking. She had learned to tap on shoulders or arms to get attention instead of calling for “Da” or “Pa,” and she could sign every short word that had been in her repertoire and much, much more. Ignis was confident that she would learn to talk when she was ready:

“We know she can,” he remarked to Prompto to break him out of a round of fretting. “We’ve heard her speak. We know she’s listening. She’ll talk in her own time.”

Prompto was teaching Luna other things. She could count on her fingers, so he started to teach her to add and subtract using her building blocks as counters. Since she knew her letters, he started to teach her to read short words, matching items to pictures. 

He taught her about how to tell time, and day and night. He and Cid put together a special clock that had a rotating face. It would show a shiny sun during daytime hours and a moon at night. "We're awake during the day, and we sleep at night," Prompto tried to tell her, and marked off their daily schedule on the clock so she could see it. Wake up at seven during the morning, lunch at twelve, dinner at six when it became evening, bedtime at eight at night. Luna could read the clock if she tried, though she didn't seem to understand some of it. The problem became clear when she pointed at the sun on the clock face and signed to Prompto:

_"What's that?"_

She didn't know. Of course she didn't. It had been virtually gone since before she'd been born.

_"The S-U-N."_ Prompto spell-signed it, then used its proper sign. _"It's a bright light that comes out in the sky during the day. It went away but it will be back."_

Prompto soon realized how much he would have to tell Luna about a world that had gone away with the light, and about everything past Hammerhead hidden by the neverending gloom. He also knew that, now that she could understand him, he had stories to tell her. 

The next time he was sent out of Hammerhead to take care of a daemon infestation with a group of Glaives, he made a point of stopping in Lestallum with his camera and wheedling Vyv into printing them all. Whenever he had time, he went about organizing the photographs into an album and making little notes about the time before they’d left, their earlier journey, the places they’d gone. 

Someday he’d take her those strange and faraway places. Someday, he’d be able to let her meet the people they’d met - if they’d survived - and see what they had seen in this weird and wonderful world.

Someday, it would be more than his memories.

Every time Prompto finished a few more pages now, he would sit with Luna and tell her about them instead of bedtime stories. 

His heart ached the first time he opened the book for her to show her the way the world had been, signing as he showed her the first photograph: _“This is the place I grew up. This is the city called Insomnia-”_ He stopped to spell-sign it: _“I-N-S-O-M-N-I-A. It was the biggest city in the world before the sun went away.”_ He let her marvel over the photograph of the tall buildings, until she looked down and pointed at the grinning young man in the photo. _“That is your Uncle N-O-C-T.”_ He said it aloud: “Uncle Noct.”

Luna pursed her lips, then spelled it, _“N-O-C-T?”_

_“My best friend.”_ He grinned at the memories. _“We’re like brothers.”_

Luna understood the idea of “brother” and “sister” - Prompto had used Gladio and Iris as an example, “people who share parents and care about each other very much.” Luna understood family are “the people who care about you most and who belong to you.” Prompto hoped she would understand when he explained: _“We don’t share parents, but we’re very close. He’s my closest friend in the world.”_ His hands shook, throat wobbling a little, but he finished explaining: _“He went away before you were born.”_

_“Like the sun?”_ Luna frowned at Prompto, and he nodded and signed back:

_“Just like the sun.”_

Luna had a lot to learn, and there was so much Prompto would have to explain. Prompto didn’t know if she would ever truly understand everything. He could only ever take it one step at a time. 

* * *

Sometimes, Luna’s intelligence surprised him. Maybe it was because he never thought he was especially smart - no matter how many times Ignis told him he strongly disagreed, it was hard to internalize - but he would then remind himself that she was very much half Ignis’ daughter.

Luna, who would watch him repairing guns nearly every day when she wasn’t playing with her toys or sitting with Talcott and Iris doing lessons with them, would sometimes approach him at his bench and point at the next tool he was going to use. _“That one.”_

_“Right!”_ Prompto would wave his hands in celebration, grinning big and wide, then pick it up and keep working.

When Prompto taught Luna a lesson about rain, showing her photographs of rainstorms and explaining that plants and animals did better in places where there was more water, she asked, _“Is that why there aren’t plants and animals here? No rain?”_

_“Right!”_ It was a lot harder to smile about that one. Not when Prompto couldn’t remember the last time it had rained. 

He could also tell that, whenever she was wearing her hearing aids, she _was_ listening. She would come up to him in the middle of a conversation, tap his hand, and spell-sign a word she’d heard, as best she could: _“Don’t understand. U-S-P-Y-R.”_

“Uspyr,” he muttered, and frowned at Ignis, who mouthed the letters and thought hard for a moment.

“Aspire,” Ignis said with a snap of his fingers, then signed to Luna. _“A-S-P-I-R-E. It’s a big word for hope.”_ Quietly, Ignis told Prompto, “She must have heard me mentioning that we _aspire_ to have another greenhouse soon.”

“Holy cow.” Prompto whispered to himself. “She figured that word out.”

It kept Prompto on his toes. He had to make sure not to say words he didn’t want her to hear, learn, and repeat, like “fuck,” “shit,” or “alone time with Papa.” He didn’t want her repeating the first two, and he didn’t want her finding out about the last one because she’d want to join in and _that was out of the question_. 

“Alone time” was an arrangement Cid had lightly suggested around the time Luna began communicating more readily, proposing that when he and Ignis needed to talk about things they didn’t want little ears to hear, the two of them could use the empty caravan. He’d let them take their gil right out of the door slot. “Sometimes, grown-ups need a little time without the kid around,” he told Prompto gruffly. “We can watch the little’un for a bit. When’s the last time the two of you had a date, anyway?”

“When’s there time to have date nights during the apocalypse?” Prompto sighed into his toolbox, but he grinned at Cid. “Still, I appreciate it. I know Iggy will too.”

They spent more than a few nights out in the caravan, by themselves, talking about things they didn’t want Luna to hear, or just being a couple in a way they couldn’t be in front of Luna. Plenty of things happened in that caravan that Prompto definitely didn’t want Luna to be aware of, not just yet. It was important they have a space where they knew Luna wasn’t listening or watching.

However, one night, around when Luna was three and a half, Prompto realized just how well she was listening. 

It was a particularly busy night at the bunker, with Gladio coming in with a whole crew of Glaives who wanted firearms training. The communal dinner table was crowded, as the caravan had just arrived and the men hadn’t had time to set up their camps in the parking-lot-turned-training-yard, so the new men were eating with the permanent residents in the bunker. Luna was sandwiched between Prompto and Ignis in the crowded space, picking at her stew slowly, much more interested in her juice box. Prompto and Ignis were mostly talking to each other and Gladio, catching him up with the goings-on at the bunker and in Hammerhead, the away missions Prompto and Ignis had gone on while he’d been away, and as Gladio caught them up with his work in Meldacio and some of the ground lost and the new land protected.

Luna was pinned in, without enough room to lift her hands. Prompto would only really figure it out later. Instead, she tapped his leg urgently. He looked at her, and she looked back, brow furrowed up.

“What is it, Lulu?” 

She cocked her head, then _said:_ “Can I have more juice please?”

Ignis went ramrod stiff, and Gladio slammed his hands on the table: “SHE TALKED?!” 

The entire table had gone silent. Prompto’s ears were still ringing. Luna’s voice was low and a little raspy, soft and melodic. Her pronunciation was a little jumbled, but her words made sense. And she’d spoken.

Prompto managed to reply, “Juice, please, huh? Yeah, you got it. One second, sweetie.” He got up and grabbed her another juice box from the refrigerator, passing a whisper campaign as the Glaives who’d been at the bunker longer told the new ones that Luna hadn’t spoken before, not a single proper word, and here she came with a full sentence. Prompto offered her the juice box, then signed and said:

“Want me to put the straw in?”

“I can do it!” She took the box and the straw, then beamed at him. “Thank you, Pompo-dahlin.”

Gladio burst out laughing, all but howling with amusement, Ignis covered his mouth to hide his own amused smile, and Prompto maintained his composure as he died laughing on the inside. “You’re welcome, Lulu.” 

A little research told Prompto that this wasn’t completely unusual. It wasn’t unheard of for children to spontaneously start with sentences. Rare, but not completely alien. 

“She does listen to us; surely she learned to speak by listening to us whenever she could,” Ignis remarked to Prompto as Iris and Gladio tempted Luna into actually talking to them in a combination of speaking and sign language. “Children imitate what they see, _Prompto darling_.” He grinned a little viciously, wrapping an arm around Prompto’s waist. “We knew she had it in her.” 

Over the next few days, they teased out what she thought everyone was called. “Cin,” she whispered when Prompto indicated Cindy. Cid was “Pawpaw.” (Cid loved it.) When Cor stopped by, she knew him as “Marshal.” Gladio was, to his delight, “Gladio,” though he encouraged her:

“Uncle Gladdy. You can call me Uncle Gladdy.” 

She knew almost everyone else’s proper names, but Ignis and Prompto were the exceptions: “Icky” and “Pompo-dahlin.” (Spoken as a single word.)

“Daddy,” Prompto insisted as they tried to talk her through it during one of their family lessons. “Prompto is what everyone else calls me. I’m your Dad, okay?”

“But - Icky-” She turned to Ignis, who shook his head. 

“Papa. It would make me happy if you called me Papa.”

“Why?” She crossed her tiny arms, cheeks puffed out as she pouted. 

“Because that’s what this means.” Prompto demonstrated their signs. “Daddy and Papa.” 

“But it’s what you say!” She signed _“Daddy”_ and _“Papa”_ but shook her head. “You say Icky to him. And he says Pompo-dahlin.”

“That’s because dads talk differently to each other than kids talk to dads.” Prompto frowned when it hit him - Luna had never really seen how other kids talked to their parents. She’d never had a chance to. None of them had parents left alive.

“That’s why Cindy calls Cid ‘Pawpaw,’” he said after a moment. “He’s her dad’s dad. Her papa’s papa.”

Luna’s face worked, brow all knit up, and Ignis knelt in front of her, then took her hand. “It makes my heart feel good when you say ‘Papa.’” He signed the word against her palm, and she nodded. 

“Papa,” she whispered, and he kissed her on the cheek.

“Thank you, Lulu.”

Luna had picked up an impressive vocabulary - Prompto knew she’d been listening to Ignis - and though she rarely spoke above her inside voice, she had plenty to say. She would have little conversations with him, asking him questions aloud while he was teaching her, mouthing out letters to spell out words aloud, laughing and pleading when she roughhoused with Prompto, Gladio, or Iris. However, Luna still chose to sign sometimes - usually when they were in public, or when there were new people around. 

Prompto first noticed it when he went to introduce her to a small crew of new recruits - establishing “there’s a three-year-old on base” early was a good way to avoid issues - and he went through a little spiel he’d come up with. “This is my daughter, Luna. She lives here with me and her dad-slash-my-fiance. She’ll be here, but she usually sticks pretty close to the bunker. If you see her, just watch the salty language and try to be gentlemen, okay?” Then, he faced her. “Lulu, say ‘hi.’” 

Luna seized his hand and squeezed tight, shaking her head. Prompto squeezed her palm back. “Something wrong? Can you wave?” 

She glanced up at the ten-odd men standing nearby, then waved and buried her face in Prompto’s leg.

She would clam up and seal her mouth shut sometimes, refusing to talk until Prompto or someone else signed to her to show that they were listening, and she would sign back. Prompto called her pediatrician about it, and after a few conversations about it and some research, she suggested that Luna was experiencing a form of selective mutism, possibly due to her hearing issues, but also possibly caused by a form of anxiety. It was hard to say, but the only real way to deal with it was to help her practice and encourage her to speak more. Therapy would have been good, but it just wasn’t possible. It would be up to Prompto and Ignis. 

That was fine with Prompto, really. Prompto just wanted his little girl to be safe and happy. 

He would just keep teaching her about everything in front of her, the world he remembered, how to interact with it.

Nothing was more rewarding than when he sat her down to read her a storybook, but instead she tugged on his shirt collar and asked him, “Tell me a story about you and Uncle Noct?”

* * *

As Luna had been growing up inside of Hammerhead, however, Prompto and Ignis had also been watching the world outside of Hammerhead grow darker and more dangerous. No matter how many Glaives they recruited and trained, it never seemed to be enough. More and more small towns and settlements collapsed month by month, the lights failing and the people either fleeing for the safety of Lestallum or dying. After all, the Glaives could fight a thousand times to protect one point, but the daemons only had to win once and it was all over. No matter how well Gladio and Cor trained the new Glaives, the daemons sometimes outnumbered or outflanked them, and then, not only was a town lost, but so were the Glaives. Even within Lestallum, life was tense. Ignis was doing his best to organize more resources, getting subsistence garden patches growing on Lestallum rooftops and converting the empty mobile bases into greenhouses and refuges for domestic and wild animals, but food was still short, made worse when transport trucks were lost in daemon attacks. Despair over food rationing drove some out of the city, out into the dark, to try to make it on their own, but that only put their lives at risk again. It was a vicious cycle of desperation, and the result came down to one thing: 

The population was shrinking. 

Prompto didn’t like to think of it as the daemons winning, but when he was taken on a mission to Galdin Quay to escort the crew of a boat arriving from Altissia to safety, he couldn’t help but look around at the abandoned resort in despair. There were claw marks and dents in the walls and on the posts, clothes left abandoned by people who’d been taken by the Scourge and turned daemon. He recognized the chef’s, Coctura’s, hat in the carnage, and the shirt and tie from that reporter, Dino, down by the wharf. Left empty. He still remembered their faces, and now they were just gone. 

All everyone could do was keep fighting, keep trying. 

While the efforts to keep as many people alive through the carnage were ongoing, Ignis and the rest of the interim government in Lestallum decided it would be worthwhile to catalogue everyone as best as they could so they could keep track of how many had survived and how many were lost. As morbid as it was to think so, there weren’t always bodies to be counted or survivors to identify the dead. Instead, the government put out a call for everyone to send requests to Lestallum for dog tags, to be worn at all times. 

There would at least be dog tags left behind by daemons.

Ignis returned from a trip to Lestallum with paperwork enough to keep in Takka’s Diner for everyone there and for the next few bunches of people that came through. He asked Prompto to complete it for the three of them, and as much as Prompto hated the thought of putting a tag on Luna, he knew that Ignis and Luna would want to know if anything had happened to him. 

Prompto completed the form while Ignis was distributing it to the men in the encampment and everyone in the bunker. It was simple - members of family, birthdates, complete name. Easy. Ignis would have it sent back to the government, who would print tags for the three of them to wear. Prompto would put Luna’s on a necklace, and he hoped it wouldn’t bother her.

He had left their paperwork on the kitchen table while making a few jam sandwiches to share with Luna and Ignis for lunch, when Luna crept in behind him, flouncing up in her little dress with an armful of toys. Prompto turned when he heard her, grinned and greeted her: “Hey, Lulu! Daddy’s making lunch now, okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded, and he turned back about to continue spreading jam on bread. A few moments later, he heard the characteristic click of Ignis’ shoes on the tiles.

“Darling, Lulu.” Prompto didn’t have to turn to see that Luna had gone to hug Ignis as he arrived, and smiled to himself. He imagined she was signing her greeting into his hand.

Then, Luna asked: “What’s this?” She tapped on the table, and Prompto glanced back to see Luna had found the application. Ignis furrowed his brow as he thought. 

“A piece of paper? Oh, that must be our application for dog tags. It’s a little piece of metal that will have your name on it. That way, when people see it, they’ll know it’s you.”

A nice way to explain it to her. Prompto didn’t want to have to tell her why they would need to know who she was.

“Oh.” Luna cocked her head curiously, still peering at the paper. “What’s it say?”

“I fear I can’t read it on my own, dearest.” Ignis turned the paper towards her. “Why don’t you read it for me? Sound out the letters.”

Luna pulled the sheet closer, then clambered up onto a chair to peer over at it, curiously scanning Prompto’s most careful block handwriting with inquisitive eyes. “P… Pr… Prom… Promp-to… Ar… Arge… Argen-tum.”

“That’s Daddy’s name, the name that other adults use.” Ignis smiled wryly.

“Promp-o,” she repeated, stressing the “r” but missing the “t.” Prompto made a note to practice the consonants with her again. “What’s Arg… Argen-tum?”

“Ah, that’s his family name. People who have the same name are from the same family. Prompto’s parents were Mr. and Mrs. Argentum. You might hear people who don’t know your Daddy well, or who respect him a great deal, call him ‘Mr. Argentum.’”

“Oh!” Luna nodded, then moved down the page. “Ig… nis… S… tu… peo... Ski… Ski…”

“Scientia,” Ignis finished, saying it slowly so she could hear. “Ignis Stupeo Scientia. That’s my full name. I have a middle name, though I don’t use it very often. Haven’t you heard Miss Holly call me Mr. Scientia sometimes?”

“Scientia is your f-family name?” Luna looked over at him.

“Yes. My parents were Scientias, so I am, too.”

Prompto watched as Luna read further down the page. “Lu… na… S.... Stel… la… Argen-tum.”

“Very good! That’s you!” Ignis sounded pleased, though Luna’s brow wrinkled with confusion. “Yes, Stella is your middle name. We don’t use it unless we have to, it’s like a special secret na-”

“Argentum,” she repeated. “That’s my… f-family name?”

Ignis had clearly detected the trepidation in her voice. “Yes, dear. Since you were born from Prompto-”

“B-but… you’re my Papa.” Luna’s eyes were full of tears. “Are… are we family?”

Prompto shoved the jam sandwiches away and rushed over to her. “Hey, honey-”

“Luna, yes, of course!” Ignis got down on his knees. “We’re family. Your Daddy and I are both in your family-”

“But - f-family name…” Luna sniffled. “You’re… you’re Scientia…”

Prompto still had that same lizard brain somewhere inside of him, and remembered too keenly what it was to think for even a second - let alone _years_ \- that you didn’t belong in your family. He connected the dots on Luna’s thinking, and he could see from the shock on Ignis’ face that he had realized it too.

“Dearest, family doesn’t always share n-”

It was too late. The notion was already stuck in her head, and Luna was softly crying and rubbing at her eyes.

Prompto grabbed Ignis’ hand, and Ignis lifted his face, clearly sensing that Prompto was looking meaningfully at him. Prompto whispered, “We should’ve-”

“We still can,” Ignis urgently replied, then put his hand on Luna’s shoulder. “Lulu, darling, we are a family. You and Daddy are my family.”

“We can make a new family name, okay?” Prompto rubbed her back as she wiped her eyes, until he rubbed her tears away for her. “We’re a whole new family.”

It wouldn’t take too much to change her name. An allegation of a mistake on a birth certificate, unnoticed by parents in the haze of a new baby, and there would be no questions asked.

Prompto changed the paperwork, and took it to Lestallum himself. He also submitted the formal paperwork for a name change request - Luna Stella Scientia-Argentum.

He and Ignis hadn’t discussed what their family name would be before, but Prompto knew now that Luna had somewhat decided for him. When he did marry Ignis, when the day came that the two of them did tie their lives together on paper as well as in their hearts, they would all be Scientia-Argentums. 

Prompto wished that day could come a little sooner: if Noctis’ return would mark the day they could get married, that all this horror would end, then it would be the day his baby girl’s life got a lot simpler. There were so many terrible things about this world he didn’t want Luna to have to learn. 

For now, the most important thing for her to know was that she was loved.


	5. For the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been nearly five years since Noctis went away, and Ignis is still trying to manage the world while looking for a way to save Noctis as Prompto balances protecting Hammerhead with raising their child. However, the future is coming and at some point, something will give. Will Prompto be ready for the changes as they come?

**5: For The Future**

Ignis couldn’t avoid the responsibilities of technically being in charge of Lucis, but he could at least handle most of what needed to be done by conference call. As things gradually worsened, the number of conference calls increased, from twice-a-week check-ins to calling the council members nearly every night. Prompto knew that he was technically Ignis’ co-regent, but he also knew that Ignis was definitely more cut out for leadership than he was. Even so, when he could, he at least sat in on the calls, organizing his photo album and listening as Ignis reviewed the daily updates with those who knew the most.

“... I’ll contact Marshal Leonis and ask him to send the next group of men he has available to Saxham to defend the farms, but the Glaives are running full steam with every resource he has.” Ignis pinched his brow. Prompto bit his lip, debating offering to take another trip out himself with a group of trainees, but thought better of it. The trainees at Hammerhead right now just weren’t ready. He’d be leading a death march. “Any other business?”

_“Same as usual,”_ Claustra sighed. _“We’re running out of food and bigger and bigger monsters keep coming out from the depths.”_

_“Same problems we’re having here, then.”_ Holly sounded more tense than Prompto could ever remember. _“Gladio and Dave just reported in about something nasty that came out of the abandoned mines in Leide, they were lucky they were able to deal with it before it came close to any of the settlements.”_

_“We’re worried we’ll be next.”_ There was a beat, then the flip of a page from Claustra’s line. _“There was seismic activity from Tenebrae again, equivalent to a 3.6 magnitude earthquake. We’re concerned that something very dangerous might be coming our way. We contacted the stewardess at Fenestala, she said it was likely coming from one of the temples managed by the Oracle’s family.”_

“Ah, that has been brought to my attention.” Ignis tented his fingers under his chin. “Gladio and I will be meeting with Aranea Highwind to organize a raid party to try to deal with that.” Ignis turned back to Prompto, who didn’t look up from putting another photo in his album and making a note with his silver gel pen, and Prompto could sense his regret and hesitation at leaving again.

“You sure I can't come? Maybe I could help.” He winked an eye up, and caught onto the dismay on Ignis’ face. “You can say no.”

Ignis pursed his lips for a moment, slumping in his chair. “We’ll consider it, but I don’t want Luna alone for long, and I know you don’t either.”

Prompto sighed, then spoke up. “If you have any information about the big nasty, so we can figure out who’s best to handle it, we’d appreciate it.”

_“I can ask our historians to see if there’s any record of what may have been sealed in that vault,”_ Claustra offered. _“I did want to ask, Mr. Scientia - were you planning to return to Altissia anytime soon? We’ve gained access to some more of what was destroyed during Leviathan’s rampage, it may be of use to you.”_

“I may make that part of my trip, if I end up traveling your way. Otherwise, I’ll have to arrange to visit soon.”

“Daddy?”

Ignis and Prompto both jerked to attention at Luna’s small voice from the hallway, as she peered into the communal area, knock-kneed in her nightgown and rubbing her eyes. “Where’re you?”

“Right here, angel.” Prompto put his photobook aside and went to scoop her up. “I’ll come put you back to bed.” Luna slung her arms around his neck, rubbing her chin into his shoulder. “Iggy, I’m gonna sit with Lulu.”

“Thank you, Prompto, darling. Goodnight, Lulu.” Ignis smiled, though weariness still hung in his eyes. 

“Night, Icky, Pompodahlin,” Luna mumbled, but Prompto heard Claustra, Holly, and a few of the other leaders and representatives chuckling.

_“What a dear thing. She’s four now?”_ Claustra sounded warmly amused.

“She is, yes, four and six months.” Warmth colored Ignis’ tones like a flame lighting up his whole spirit. “Ah, and a question for those in Lestallum - does anyone know of any speech therapists who work with young children, especially the hearing-impaired? I’d like to work on her consonant blends before she develops bad habits.” 

_“I’ll ask,”_ Holly said. _“Your baby girl there’s more important than the world to you, ain’t she?”_

Prompto lost the rest of the conversation as he toed their bedroom door shut and lay Luna down in her little bed next to theirs. She was already falling asleep in his arms, blinking slowly as he tucked her in and smoothed her hair down, then brought some of her soft toys to her chest to keep her company. 

“Daddy’s right here, hon,” he told her, running his fingers through her hair a few times. She smiled sleepily, closing her eyes, but she lifted her hands just over her chest.

_“Love you Daddy,”_ she signed, then covered his hands with hers. He smiled, too overcome with love to contain it.

The world was getting worse, but Luna was more important to him than any of it. As long as she was alright, nothing else would matter.

* * *

As Luna got older, Prompto was getting a little more comfortable with leaving her for a few days. There were some things that just couldn’t be done while he was at Hammerhead. Claustra had requested that he, Gladio, and Ignis all go to Tenebrae with Aranea to deal with the daemon that had been sealed in the vault under one of the temples previously guarded by the Oracle’s family. 

Once, Prompto would have agonized over it, been anxious for days before leaving, checked and double-checked everything. Now, it was only a low rumble. Luna was a smart girl. She was friendly with everyone in their little group; she was everyone's favorite person. Cindy and Iris would take care of her while he and Ignis were gone, with Talcott to play with, and he knew she’d probably spend as much time as she could sitting on Cid’s knee as he read her storybooks like the grumpy old grandpa he was. She would miss them, but Prompto had gotten her to understand:

“We have to do whatever we can to make the world safe for you.” He fluffed her hair and kissed her cheek. “Daddy’s gotta go make a big monster go away so some other kids can sleep a little better.”

Luna would pout about it, but she would still chatter to them when they called her from the road, tell them all about her day, about everything she’d done. Prompto would try to keep it vague - she didn’t need to know what he did with his guns when she wasn’t watching over his shoulder in the workshop or on the training range. “I’m sending all the monsters away here. Hopefully, there won’t be anything scary anymore someday.”

_“You can do it!”_ He could tell she was grinning - her face was just like his, and when she was happy, she sounded so much like him. 

“Thanks, angel. Love you.” Then, he’d hang up and collapse around the fire at the haven, as they continued patching up their wounds from the day’s work. None of them recounted their war stories to Luna, they kept it to campfire chat. When it was just the three of them, they complained about the daemons and the grueling work, and tried to make jokes like they used to sitting around the fire back when they were waiting for sun-up with Noctis. 

Sunrise seemed so far away, especially when the three of them bundled into the tent to try to sleep before clearing the miles between here and Hammerhead.

"Y'know," Gladio muttered in the pure darkness of their tent, "that thing I said back when I found out you two were a thing? About no, y'know, in the tent?" Both Prompto and Ignis hummed in response. "I changed my mind. Do what feels right. I'm gonna be dead asleep in ten seconds anyway." 

Ignis sighed and slid an arm around Prompto's waist. "The sentiment is appreciated, but I believe the two of us are a bit exhausted as well." 

"Dead tired, dude," Prompto affirmed, but snuggled a little closer to Ignis. 

It was something nice to think about, rather than the guts and gore of fighting their way to survival, rather than the hopelessness that had nearly claimed him as daemons had poured out from all sides and nearly overwhelmed him. However, he was mostly still thinking of Luna, hoping she thought he was a hero instead of just someone trying desperately to survive and help as many others to survive as he could. 

When he came home to her hugs and affection, it made it worth it.

Even if it weren’t a matter of making sure there was a world for Noctis to come back to, there had to be a world Luna could live in. He had to keep the world safe for her. She had a whole life to live, and Prompto would do anything to make sure she could live it.

* * *

“Sometimes,” Gladio confided in Prompto as he dropped off a new passel of recruits, “I feel rotten about this part of my job.”

“Yeah?” Prompto raised an eyebrow and watched the new men and women descend from the caravan. Gladio had dropped him and Ignis off at Hammerhead after their trip to Tenebrae, then had run right back out to recruit again. He looked more tired than ever, even though Prompto knew he’d just been in Lestallum and at the farms. “What’s wrong?”

“Just. The thought of it makes me sick when I think about it too hard.” Gladio shifted his weight, then pressed his shoulders against the back of the covered truck. “It used to be, we’d recruit men by telling them, stand up and defend your home, your family, your people. Now, we’re picking up kids by telling them, fighting’s better than doing nothing. And they’re desperate enough to sign up.” He motioned to the recruits chattering to one of the more experienced Glaives. "They’re getting younger, less skilled.”

Prompto grimaced, and lifted his hands to sign. _“I was not skilled when I was trained.”_

Gladio scoffed, but signed back, _“You learned fast. Not everyone will. Too many of these new kids will die. I hate it.”_

Wincing, Prompto replied with a turn of his hands, _“Me too.”_

Gladio groaned and slung an arm around Prompto’s back. “Do your best, okay? Maybe some of these kids are as good at shooters as you are.”

“Yeah, me and Iggy and Iris’ll do our best. You hear Cor’s gonna start sending her out as a squad leader?”

“Heard about it? We argued about it for two hours last week.” His lip curled, pure disgust. “But it’s what Iris wants, so who am I to tell her she can’t go be the best damn Hunter she can be? ‘Til… ‘til something happens.”

“Hey.” Prompto elbowed Gladio’s arm with his, as Iris emerged from the bunker, dressed in her uniform - a soldier’s fatigues she’d customized with little bits of colorful fabric and the Royal sigil of a skull embroidered on her chest pocket. “She’s a tough girl, smart, like you. She’s a natural.” He nodded towards her eagerly greeting some of the new people. “She’s already got a rep with her training regiment: Iris the Daemon Hunter. They probably don’t even know just who they’re talking about.” 

Gladio cracked a smile, then ruffled Prompto’s hair. “I hate that she feels like she’s gotta do it, and I hate that we’re so hard up for good soldiers that we’re allowing it, but I’m still proud of her.” 

“You should be.” Prompto slung an arm around his shoulder. “We won’t make it unless we’re all ready to go all-out.” The doors to Hammerhead opened, and Ignis emerged with his duffel at his side and Luna sitting on his shoulders, her hand in his. “Speaking of which.” Prompto raised his voice a little: “You sure picked a convenient time for a trip! Avoiding the misadventures that come with fresh trainees?”

“Convenient, perhaps,” Ignis answered, smiling wryly and signing into Luna’s hand. “However, I never enjoy being away, even if it means potentially avoiding a few trips to the infirmary.” 

Gladio laughed, loud and sharp. “Well, then come back as quick as you can, yeah? Maybe you can get a few spare bruises like the rest of us.” He slapped Ignis on the back as he reached them, then signed to Luna: _“Your Papa will be back soon.”_

_“He told me,”_ Luna signed back, then held her hands out to Gladio. He scooped her up under the arms and set her down, and she grinned at him. “You’re going too? Already?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna take him to meet Miss Aranea, who’s gonna give him a ride. But I’ll be back soon too.” He got down, then took her hands. “We always come back to you, right?”

She nodded, and he fluffed her hair, taking what scant moments he had to talk to her. Ignis and Prompto, meanwhile, faced one another, smiling even though Ignis couldn’t see Prompto smiling back.

Years together had brought a comfortable familiarity that even months apart couldn’t weather. 

“I’ll miss you, y’know.” 

“And I, you, my darling.” Ignis kissed his brow a few times, and Prompto kissed him on the chin, then the mouth: brief, chaste touches, filled with promise. Promises to return, to survive, that they would be there for one another. 

“You be good in Altissia. Call whenever you can.” Prompto ran his thumb over his cheek, down to his jawline. “I’ll leave the computer with the camera open so we can hear the alert.” 

“I will. I hope this journey is fruitful.” Ignis covered Prompto’s hand with his, the warmth of his palm a balm on Prompto’s heartache. “I never like to be away, but I’m certain I’m near a breakthrough.” 

“I’ll take your word for it, until you find the words you need to get your theories in line.” Prompto grinned. “And speaking of fruitful, if you find any ulwaat berries-”

“Jam, for my angel.” Ignis grinned, then turned his mouth into Prompto’s hand to kiss his palm. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Ignis backed away, as the two of them knew that if they lingered, they’d never let go. Gladio released Luna to run to Ignis, and she wrapped her arms around his legs and shoved her hand into his. Prompto could see her signing into his palm, and Ignis’ smile going shaky. He took her other hand and signed something in return, then got down on his knee to kiss her forehead. “Take care of Daddy.” He winked with his good eye, and she hugged him around the neck. 

Luna held Prompto’s hand at the end of the sidewalk as Gladio departed with Ignis, and he heard her sigh.

“I wish he wouldn’t leave,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, me neither. But hey, someday, he won’t have to. Or he’ll be able to take us with him.” He squeezed her hand. “Right now, we’re in charge here. I think Talcott’s waiting to do your lessons, and I gotta go help Mr. Cid.” He scooped her up and carried her in, as she held tight to him.

Life would go on. Prompto knew that beyond these gates, the world would keep changing, and he wouldn’t know it until it was too late for him to do anything about it. All he could do was keep the vigil at these gates, to keep things the same here. If nothing else, it’d be a place for his King to come back to, and for his princess to grow up until she could face the world.

Nothing would change inside these gates, as far as Prompto could control. 

* * *

Ignis had gotten lucky. Not only had he missed the early days of training the newest recruits, but he missed the bout of influenza one of the new trainees brought in with him. 

Luna caught it first, feverish and sick for days. She couldn’t hold down food, and she cried endlessly, unable to comprehend her discomfort. Prompto patiently nursed her, reading storybooks to her even though she could barely hear him through her fever. When Ignis called, she lay on his lap and sniffled piteously with a bucket under her head, as Prompto stroked her hair. 

“Just a little flu bug,” Prompto told Ignis, as Ignis fretted in the dim room he sat in on the other side of the laptop camera. “Her fever’s already going down, it shouldn’t be more than a little longer.” He patted her shoulder, and she whined and turned her face into his thigh. “We’ve been eating rice and toast when we can.”

“No,” Luna moaned softly, and Ignis, hands over his mouth, sighed.

_“My poor, sweet angel. I’m so sorry. You’ll be right as rain in no time. Daddy’s taking good care of you, I’m sure.”_

“Made me eat med’cine,” Luna mumbled into Prompto’s pant leg, and Prompto smiled and patted her hair.

“And it made you feel a little better, right?” He sighed for dramatic effect. “She’ll be okay soon.”

_“I’m glad.”_ Ignis smiled, though his brow was still knit. _“How are you feeling, darling?”_

“Me? Fine! Were you worried because I got sick last time?” Prompto sat back into the sofa and kept stroking Luna’s hair. “I feel okay. I make sure to wash my hands a lot, and I’m not touching my face or mouth. The trainees who are sick are quarantined in the tents, too. I’m being careful.” He clicked his tongue and winked at Ignis, knowing Ignis would pick up on it. 

Ignis managed a wan laugh, but shook his head. _“Just be careful. I’ve got to be here just a bit longer, but don’t hesitate to ask for help.”_

“Yeah, Talcott and Cindy are always happy to lend a hand if I’m really in the thick.” Prompto then focused on Ignis. “Finding anything interesting?”

_“I may have. There were some texts composed by some of the older Oracles, records on the life of the precursor to all of the Oracles, that have provided some insight, as well as some information on the fall of Solheim and the Astral War that have proved most enlightening.”_ Ignis ran his hand down his chin - Prompto noticed stubble, a sure sign that Ignis had spent too much time listening to the transcribed text and recording notes. _“I’m not jumping to conclusions, but I may be on to something.”_

Prompto, knowing that Ignis wouldn’t say things he didn’t mean, felt a swell of reassurance and demurred. “Fine, keep your secrets. Tell me all about it when you’re sure.”

_“I will, darling.”_ Ignis blew Prompto a kiss, and Luna grumbled and buried her face against Prompto’s stomach. 

* * *

The next morning, Prompto woke with bile in his throat and rued that he’d spoken too soon.

Cindy tagged in to nurse Luna through breakfast as Prompto recovered from his bout of sickness. He didn’t feel feverish and recovered after drinking water and eating toast, and concluded, “I must have picked up a mild form of what everyone else got.” 

“Ya ought’a take the day,” Cindy told him as she poured Prompto a measure of the same flu medicine she’d been passing around the camp. Prompto shook his head.

“I’m feeling alright now, no worries. If I start feeling rotten later, I might take a break, but I gotta get the guns in order for that turret we’re setting up near the Norduscaen settlement.” He rolled his shoulders back and stood. “Come sit with Daddy, Lu.” He picked up his and Luna’s plate and glass and put them in the sink, as Cindy hummed uneasily.

“There’ll always be more work to do, y’know. If you run yourself ragged, there ain’t gonna be no more of you.”

“I know, but I gotta pull my weight.” He let out a sigh as Luna clung to his leg. “I’m just doing my part, and I feel fine enough to do it, so I’m gonna do it.”

Cindy huffed, putting her hands on her hips. “I can’t stop ya, but if you’re sick, you ought’a rest.”

“I’m fine, promise.” Prompto gave her a quick peace sign, then ambled out with Luna still hanging on to his leg. He really did feel better already, even if Luna was still on the dregs of her sickness.

He felt well enough to stay awake and work the rest of the day, so Prompto blew off his early illness as a touch of the flu.

Then, he woke up the next morning, sick again. Luna was not, for the first time in a week, and bit her fingers in the doorway as he put his face in the toilet. Cindy came to pick him up again, slicking his sweaty hair back from his forehead and pulling him to the kitchen. She made him more plain toast and forced him to drink a glass of water, and he slumped on the table, guts still swimming as he took tiny bites and small sips.

“I thought it was over,” he mumbled into his toast. Cindy hummed and shrugged, but kept pouring cereal for Luna. Cid entered just then, raised an eyebrow at Prompto, then turned on the coffee maker.

The moment the coffee scent hit the air, Prompto’s stomach turned over again and sent him bolting back for the bathroom.

Cindy forcefed Prompto a spoonful of anti-nausea medicine (as Luna stuck her tongue out at him), but by the time Prompto drank a full glass of water, he felt fine - as long as he stayed clear of coffee and other strong smells. 

The trouble was, he was sick the next morning, and the one after that.

“You gotta do somethin’ about this,” Cindy chided Prompto on day seven in a row of vomiting as she hauled him up by his arms. He groaned as the muscles in his chest pulled.

“Careful. I’m tender.” 

“Tender? Where?”

“Armpits,” Prompto muttered. “I feel achy all over, but it's the worst right there.” 

Cindy’s brow screwed up, but she put Prompto in one of the kitchen chairs and gave him another tall glass of water. However, this time, she didn’t go for the anti-nausea medicine, and took a seat in front of him as he sipped on it.

“Prompto,” she said, slowly, hesitating. “You, uh, you feelin’ anythin’ else off?”

“Huh?” Prompto raised an eyebrow. “Uh - no, I figure it’s just a little of that flu.”

“Ya didn’t get the fever, though.” She crossed her arms. “And it’s been a week. What other symptoms ya got? You’re sick, you’re sore, what else?”

“Uh, headachy?” Prompto cocked his head. “A little lightheaded? I dunno…”

“Sweetie.” Cindy sighed, brow knitting up and gaze dodging away. “I hate to ask this - but - you’re still takin’ your testosterone, ain’cha?”

“Yeah, I-” Prompto stopped cold. “Wait, what? What makes you think-”

“That sounds like morning sickness.” She took and squeezed his hand. “If there’s any chance you might be-”

“I-” Prompto stuttered for a second, mind rushing at the possibilities. “I mean - if there were something wrong with my T shots - I’m still on a low dose and...”

“If the chemist compiling it made a mistake,” Cindy suggested in a whisper, leaning towards him. “Then maybe-”

“I have to check.” Prompto got up. “I should - I should go get a-”

“Wait right here.” Cindy hurried to her feet, but Prompto followed her to the garage upstairs, and watched her rush over to the abandoned convenience store. She jogged back after a few minutes with an armful of little boxes. “They don’t expire for another year or so, but I’d still take two. If even one comes up positive-”

“I go to Lestallum to confirm, ASAP.” Prompto took the pregnancy tests in hand, then went back down to the bunker basement.

He could hardly make himself hold still to take them, and paced the whole time he waited for the results to develop. It was nerve-wracking. The last time he’d been to a doctor for his unknown malady, he’d been taken completely off-guard. This time he knew what he might hear, and he wasn’t sure what was worse - the surprise, or waiting on tenterhooks for what felt like an eternity for bad news. 

Finally, the minute was up, and Prompto peeked at the tests waiting on the bathroom counter.

The results were faint, but present. The little indicator windows read “pregnant” in faded, watery text on both. 

“Oh, _fuck._ ” 

The panic seized Prompto and dragged him under like he was drowning, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. This was impossible. This could _not_ be happening. _How???_ Had he missed a dose of his HRT? Had the chemist messed up his testosterone? Were the gods just fucking with him? There was no way, this was impossible, this didn’t happen, this _couldn’t_ happen - 

But it was happening.

Cindy came in to check on him after fifteen minutes, and found him huddled on the bathroom floor with his knees to his chest and his head down. She knelt down behind him.

“I’m guessin’ I know what those tests said,” she said softly.

“It - it’s - you were right.” He heaved in a breath, holding back the swirling sickness, the anxiety and upset making him dizzy under the weight of the revelation. “There’s a baby in me.” 

“Those tests ain’t the most reliable, but if they both said so, then you definitely need to go confirm.” She took one of his hands and squeezed it. “And decide what you’re gonna do.” 

“What I’m gonna do,” he repeated, voice watery and weak. 

She was right. He had a choice here, especially since he’d just found out, just started noticing the symptoms. He could terminate, prevent another innocent life from being born into this dark world. 

He and Ignis had never talked about adding to their family. They were perfect as they were.

Oh, fuck, Ignis wasn’t even here, Prompto could kick himself. 

“I should - I should confirm it first.” 

Cindy helped to arrange to have Luna watched for a few days and sent Prompto to Lestallum under the guise of getting supplies - a convenient excuse so he wouldn’t have to tell the whole base before he’d decided what to do. He was able to load the supplies on his own (silently worrying the whole time, is it okay to lift this much? What if it hurts the baby, if there is a baby? Does it matter if he doesn’t keep it?), then waited for his appointment, tapping his toes nervously in the cab of the truck. 

The nerves crept over him like insects, and he shivered as he tried to sort his questions out. How could this have happened? What was he going to do? How was he supposed to decide?

What had helped him decide back then?

Hearing the baby’s heartbeat. 

Thinking about the miracle of him and Ignis creating something together. 

Sentiment. He’d been sentimental back then. 

He still was. He loved Luna, he wouldn’t trade her for the world. Even though his life was more complicated than it would have been without her, he loved every moment he spent with her. He couldn’t imagine a life without her.

Could he imagine a life with another baby? Could he handle a second? What would it be like, trying to handle another pregnancy when times were lean, when he still had to fight to survive daily, when everything could go wrong in an instant? 

Did he want to?

What would Ignis think?

So many questions, and no answer to any of them but one.

Doctor Naline administered another urine test and a blood draw pregnancy test. The urine test gave the same results as the old tests in the bunker, two plain pink lines on contact paper. 

“You’re pregnant again.” She knit her brow, but kept cool in her voice. “Alright, how did this happen?”

“I don’t know,” Prompto choked out. “The usual way? We haven’t been all that careful with protection - we figured my HRT would do the trick, but something must’ve happened…” He shook his head, fingers trembling as he gripped the examination chair. 

While waiting for the results on the blood draw, Dr. Naline found out precisely what had happened. She gave him a pelvic exam, then asked him to document times and dates he could remember him and Ignis making love. As he strained his brain, thoughts still racing, to try to recall when he and Ignis had last had “alone time,” Dr. Naline stepped out to make a phone call. 

Prompto heard her raise her voice through the closed examination room door. Then, she returned, color still draining from her cheeks. 

“I spoke to the chemist providing your HRT. After some questioning -” The sharp, cutting way she said the word reminded him of Ignis - “he admitted that he’d been struggling to keep up with demand and had been diluting his testosterone to approximately ninety percent. He stated that such a small dilution would not affect many of his patients. He didn’t take you, your low dosage, or your history into account.” She sat down in front of him and put her hand on his. “Your blood test does show lower testosterone levels than you should have given your dosage. It also shows elevated hCG levels that indicate you’re at least nine weeks pregnant.”

Prompto swallowed twice. Nine weeks. He was definitely pregnant. No ifs, ands, or buts. 

“I’ll deal with the chemist. Not that there’s much I can do, given the current state of things, but I’ve definitely put the fear of the Gods into him.” Dr. Naline crossed her arms. “The question is, what do you want to do?”

“I…” Prompto opened his mouth, but all the words garbled behind his tongue like every radio station trying to play on a car radio at once, and nothing but silent static escaped. Finally, he condensed it into the only cogent answer he could: “I don’t know.” 

“You have options,” she told him, mild and neutral as ever. “You don’t need me to remind you, I imagine. I’d be happy to discuss everything each one entails-”

“No, no, no.” Prompto shook his head. “I know what I can do, but - I can’t decide. I need to talk to Ignis.” 

“That’s fine.” Dr. Naline stepped close and took his hands again. “Just know that no matter what you decide, I’ll support you, and nobody can question your judgment.” 

Prompto was the only one questioning his judgment. 

He returned to the truck, water in his heart, and instead of starting the long drive back to Hammerhead, he ended up staring out past the railing to the overlook where the Meteor still faintly glowed.

He’d been here, too, when he’d found out about Lulu. When he’d first failed to tell Ignis and the others about her. Noctis had been here then. So had daylight. There had been some possible way to stop their enemies, so they’d thought. They’d had hope then. 

Prompto hadn’t really hoped for much recently. Just to survive, to keep taking care of Luna, to do whatever he could to keep going. The only real “hope” he had was that Noctis came back soon, and sometimes, Prompto didn’t even think it would happen. It had been so long, living in the darkness, but Prompto had been so busy that he hadn’t had time to really acknowledge the despair. 

Here came a new light in the darkness, probably no bigger than his thumbnail, and Prompto would have to decide if he should keep it, protect it like a candle in a rainstorm, or snuff it out before it could be suffocated. 

He couldn’t decide. He was too sentimental, too full of doubt, too afraid. Besides, this was not a decision that only involved him. 

Prompto dialed Ignis’ phone number. The phone signals between Altissia and the Lucian continent were dodgy, so he knew it was a coin flip over whether the call would connect at all, but he waited as the dial tone rang for what felt like forever.

Then, a click on the other end. _“Hello, darling. Is something the matter?”_

“No,” Prompto lied immediately. “Not… not really. I just wanted to ask if you knew when you’d be home.”

A long pause, then, with tiredness heavy in his voice, Ignis answered, _“Soon, I should hope. A matter of days rather than weeks. Aranea’s come around bullying me to return, but there’s just one more text I’d like to have transcribed. And you’re certain nothing is wrong?”_

Prompto ground his teeth together. “Nothing’s… wrong? But, um, I need to talk to you about something and I’d like to do it face-to-face. It’s not, y’know, urgent, I just don’t want to risk us getting disconnected in the middle.”

_“Ah. You’re… you’re sure everything is alright?”_

Ignis was nervous. Prompto clenched his fist, digging his fingernails into his palm. He’d caused that.

“Yeah, babe, everything is fine. Is it so bad to miss being able to look at you and hold your hand when we’re talking?” He tried to smile into the receiver, hoping it came through. “I miss it.”

_“I… I see. I’ll endeavor to return soon. I’m afraid I’ve more to do, darling, but I love you dearly.”_

“Love you too, babe.” 

Prompto drove back to Hammerhead, heart heavy as the road passed beneath him. He had a few days to carry his truth before he could talk to Ignis about it, have Ignis help him think through it. Above all, he couldn’t make any decisions without Ignis at least knowing. 

He told Cindy what had happened in a whisper, and pleaded with her to keep his confidence: “Just for now, I don’t want anyone else to know. I’m not sure what we’re going to do yet.” He still put his hand over his navel, as if covering his secret, or maybe protecting it.

Frowning, Cindy shook her head. “I won’t go spoutin’ off, but hon, you know-”

“Believe me, I know.” Prompto sighed, head tipping back. “I’m a ticking time bomb.”

“Ain’t what I was gonna say.” She grabbed his collar. “You gotta be careful, is what I’m sayin’! I know you say you ain’t decided, but ‘til you decide, I ain’t lettin’ nothin’ happen to you and that little bean in your belly.” 

Somehow, that put a little bit of warmth back in his heart. “Thanks. I mean it.” 

Prompto carried on as he usually did, as best as he could. The anxiety gave him tremors, and he had to force himself not to think about it, just to keep putting one foot in front of the other. The morning sickness still came and went, and poor Luna was left fretting after Prompto and putting her toast on his plate when he came to the breakfast table, pale and sickly. “You’re still sick?” She patted his hand, then his cheek, and he took her hand and kissed it.

“I’ll be okay soon.” 

Cindy insisted he stay in the guard towers when he was on a patrol shift, manning the big guns instead of going out on foot. She plied water and vitamins into him, and kept him sitting down when he was repairing weapons. She would march in while he was training recruits and yank him back from the firing line during target practice, wagging her finger at him before marching off. It almost made Prompto wonder if he could handle going on like this for the next months. However, he knew that he might still be needed in the front, might need to bring out his good weapons and put himself in harm’s way. He still would if he had to - failing to protect Hammerhead meant failing Luna. 

Even so, his decision wasn’t made. It wouldn’t be until Ignis returned.

And then, Ignis came back in the belly of Aranea’s airship, the propellers dusting the garage roof with blustering wind stronger than they ever saw naturally anymore. Prompto saw the black shadow pass overhead and hurried out to the yard to meet the ship as it landed, carrying Luna in his arms. Ignis was the first down the gangway - stride confident and proud, no longer needing his cane but still carrying it in one arm - and he hurried towards Prompto as if he already knew he was there.

“Iggy!” Prompto opened his free arm, and Luna opened hers.

“Papa!”

“My darling, my angel!” Ignis swung his arm open to receive the both of them, and the three of them embraced tight. 

Prompto couldn’t lose this. 

From behind Ignis, there was a whistle, and Prompto peeked up from around Ignis shoulder to see Aranea sauntering down the ramp, her little shadow Solara a step behind. “Ease up on the PDA, kids, you’re being a bad influence.” She stopped midstep to fluff Luna’s hair. “Hey, strawberry shortcake.”

“Hi,” Luna whispered, then waved to Solara. Aranea chuckled, then continued on her way.

“Tell him the good news, if you’re so sure it’s good news. I’m gonna see Miss Cindy in the garage about some tune-ups.” 

As Aranea walked to the garage, Prompto loosened his hug to look Ignis in the face. “She talking about you?”

To Prompto’s surprise, Ignis’ mouth spread into a wide, eager grin. “She is. I’ve something to tell you in confidence.” He scooped Luna from Prompto’s arm and hugged her tight. “But it can wait just a little bit, can it not? I know you’ve news for me, too.” His expression softened, and Prompto had to strain not to audibly swallow. 

Ignis wanted to sit and talk with Luna first, to play with her hair and hear about all the things she’d been learning. She counted to twenty for Ignis without using her fingers, and Ignis even gave her a few addition and subtraction problems to solve. She told Ignis about her science lessons, and how Cindy found some old daisy seeds in the convenience store and Talcott helped her plant them in an empty milk jug, placed under a bright light. She hadn’t seen a live flower before, only photographs. She was so excited at the thought of seeing a real, live flower she bounced in her chair, leaving Ignis chuckling at her antics. 

“Perhaps someday, you’ll have a green thumb.” He took her hand. “It means you’ll be good at growing green things. I’d love for you to have a garden someday.”

Prompto’s heart crawled up into his throat. That sounded like hope for a sunny place where Luna could have a garden. Ignis had never talked about a time after the sun came up.

Once Luna had a chance to catch up with Ignis and the excitement had worn her out, Prompto and Ignis put her down for a nap then crept out to the caravan for “alone time.” Where they could talk in confidence, without fear of little ears, or anyone else interrupting them. Prompto held his breath as Ignis turned the lock behind him, then pivoted about and took his hands.

“I can hardly keep it in, my love.” Ignis squeezed his palms. “I think I’ve figured it out. I’ve found some indicator, some hope for Noctis.”

“What?” Prompto inhaled sharply, as Ignis got that same broad, eager grin again.

“It sounds strange, but I discovered the means by which Noctis will…” His grin faltered. “It seems that the Accursed - some part of him resides in the After, held captive by the Crystal much like Noctis is. Once Noctis conquers him in this world, he will need to go to the After to destroy him in earnest. However, if we can keep some part of Noctis’ soul here, bound to this world, we may be able to preserve his life.”

“Like a fishing line,” Prompto realized. “Like, we’d be sending him to the other side with a line and hook attached to him, and be able to reel him back!”

Ignis snapped his fingers. “I adore that analogy.” 

“So, how do we do that? How do we keep him here?” Prompto clasped his hands tight. “Like, if the Gods are trying to pull him over-”

“There are powers greater than the Gods.” Ignis shook his head. “I have a theory, of sorts. If we can call on the powers of the eldest Goddess, the first Goddess, we may be able to protect him from the Gods and Kings who would condemn him. It’s an old magic, but I’ve a few books on Solheim worship of Eos to study before I can finalize my plan. And. If it does not work.” Ignis swallowed thickly, chin minutely dropping. “Then at the very least we can send Noctis off well.” 

Prompto felt the same well of emotion Ignis surely felt at the thought of losing Noctis, and patted his hand. “Do you think this is it, then?”

“If I have time, I’ll keep looking for more. I want backup plans for my backup plans, but we don’t know when Noctis might return. I had wanted to be more prepared years ago, but circumstances being what they are…” He trailed off, adjusting his visor, then sighed and turned back to Prompto. “I’m just grateful I’ve been able to make the progress I have. It’s the small victories that keep us going.”

Victories. Prompto couldn’t help but feel like he was about to deliver a terrible failure.

“We can review the rituals together, perhaps later.” Ignis patted Prompto’s hand. “But all of that can wait. You said you had something to tell me face-to-face?” He smiled, mild and neutral, perhaps masking his own nerves. “Here I am, love.”

Prompto swallowed, and nervously withdrew his hand from Ignis’, twisting his wrists together. “Uh. So. Mine’s not nearly as, uh, exciting.”

“Nevertheless, I’m on tenterhooks waiting to hear it.” Ignis had his hands out still, brow knit, but Prompto couldn’t bring himself to hold on again. Instead, he took a deep breath and stepped close.

“Right.” He heaved out the exhale, and braced himself. “So. Uh. The chemist in Lestallum who compounds my T - guess he got pulled kinda thin? So he started diluting it. So I haven’t been getting my full dose.”

“Ah.” Ignis’ brow creased. “I’ll make certain he’s dealt with - are you alright? Have you experienced any ill effects?” Ignis touched Prompto’s cheek, fingertips dusting his jawline. Prompto winced, but shook his head to brush him off.

“S… sort of. I… Ignis…” He’d had a full week to think it over, and still the right words wouldn’t come. “I… I got sick when Lulu did. And… and I went to the doctor… and…”

Ignis took Prompto’s hands now, squeezing and grounding him in place. “Darling. Please.”

That squeeze broke Prompto’s barriers, and suddenly he was gasping for air around sobs. “Oh, Gods, Iggy, we didn’t use condoms and I didn’t realize - I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant again.” 

All of a sudden, Prompto was wrapped in Ignis’ arms. 

“Are you? Truly?” Ignis held him tight for a long moment, then released him, letting Prompto see his face - lit with joy. He was smiling. Gods, he looked happier than he had than when he talked about saving Noctis’ life. “Had you just found out when you called me?”

“I - I confirmed it. With Dr. Naline.” Prompto sucked back a sob, and Ignis took a kerchief from his pocket and dabbed under Prompto’s eyes. “I’m probably ten weeks now- Iggy-” He pushed the handkerchief away. “Iggy, why-”

“Gods, you’ll think me a fool, but I can’t help it - I love our family, and even if this is a surprise, knowing that you- oh, darling-” Ignis’ delight was suddenly dampened, face falling, brow knitting with worry. “These… these aren’t tears of happiness, are they?”

Prompto shook his head, then whispered, “I - I thought you - we - we can’t have another baby now, can we?”

“It’s not a good time, no. But if everything waited until the perfect moment to happen, we’d wait forever.” Ignis took Prompto by the shoulders. “It’s a surprise, yes, but to me, a welcome one. An exciting one. I… I want a large family. I’d hoped we’d someday have a whole little crowd of children that called us parents.” He smiled wistfully. “I had always thought we’d adopt them, but Luna is a miracle, and I adore everything about her. I’m still ever grateful that she was born. I know only a fraction of what you went through to make such a miracle happen.” He shook his head, then lifted his chin to face Prompto, letting Prompto look into his eye. “And I will wholly understand if you do not want to carry another. If you think the risk is too great, the stress too much, the toll it will take on you too high to pay, then I will support you safely terminating. If we want our large family, we can do so another time, another way.” Ignis pulled Prompto a little closer. “However, if some part of you, any part of you, wants to carry to term, to make our family a little bigger now, to bear the risk, then I will support you and protect you every step of the way.” He bowed his forehead to touch Prompto’s, and Prompto instinctively leaned into it. “Darling, if you want this, if you want _them,_ I want them too. We deserve to do more than survive the darkness. We deserve to _live.”_

Ignis wanted their baby. Ignis loved their family. Ignis saw this accident as a miracle.

“So… I guess we’re having another baby.” Prompto smiled and pressed his face into Ignis’ shoulder, and Ignis tightened his embrace. 

“Ten weeks, you said?”

“Nine last week, based on the blood test. So, ten now.” Prompto grinned sheepishly. 

“Still just a little thing, then.” Ignis’ palm covered his waist, thumb just coming to touch the center of his waistline. “Hello, tiny one.” Then, he kissed the side of Prompto’s neck. “I’m going to take such good care of you. You, and Luna, and the tiny one, too.” He peppered Prompto’s cheeks and face with light, soft kisses, and Prompto finally was able to laugh. 

“Iggy - you’ll make a guy blush.” He rubbed his nose to Ignis’, only to jerk out of the motion when he realized: “Oh, man, we have to tell Lulu! She’s going to be a big sister.”

“We’ll work on it, darling, one thing at a time.” Ignis pulled him back into the embrace, and Prompto could only feel relief.

* * *

Ignis rubbed Prompto’s back through the morning sickness. He made Prompto light foods that were dense with vitamins and minerals out of what they had, and brought him prenatal vitamins back from Lestallum after he joined Gladio on a mission away from the bunker. He rubbed Prompto’s feet and back when they were in bed at night. He was better than Prompto could have ever dreamed up, and yet because it was Ignis, he couldn’t be surprised, just overjoyed.

The two of them agreed to keep Prompto’s condition at a whisper, limiting who knew: just Cindy, Cid, and Cor, at least until Prompto was out of the first trimester. Cindy knew, of course, and Cid and Cor needed to know to keep Prompto off of the front lines at Hammerhead. 

Cid had been shocked first, then angry at Prompto’s chemist, then hesitantly optimistic about the news that they were keeping the baby: “Well, we could probably use some sort of blessing around here.”

Cor, too, had swelled with rage when he heard about the scam with Prompto's HRT, but deflated when he heard about the pregnancy. “You’re keeping it? You’re sure?” He’d looked between Prompto, his chin down on his chest, Ignis holding his head high, and the two of their hands clasped. Then, he sighed and shook his head. “I won’t stop you, but I’ll ask you to be careful. There’s only so much I can protect you from.”

The two of them started easing Luna in on the idea of babies. Prompto got his hands on a few storybooks featuring children with younger siblings. He started to ask her what she thought about babies. He got to the pages of his photojournal with pictures of when he’d been pregnant with her, and pointed them out to her specifically:

“See that bump on my tummy? That’s you. You lived inside me before you were born, and that’s where you were.”

Luna’s jaw dropped, and she practically crawled into his lap. Prompto grunted and tried to suck his belly in as she clambered onto his thighs, then turned and poked his chest. “How’d I fit?”

“You were way smaller, then! Babies start small, you know.” He estimated how big she’d been with his hands, and she cocked her head.

“So small?”

“Very, very small.” He grinned and fluffed her hair. “Babies grow into kids, and kids grow into grown-ups. So they start small then grow, like your seed in the milk jug."

Luna craned her neck around to the plant, now poking tiny, wrinkled leaves out of the dry soil. "Was I that little?"

"Yeah," Prompto chuckled, and fluffed her hair. "But you're getting bigger and bigger all the time, right?"

"Yeah!" Luna lit up, as Prompto turned the page.

"See, this is when we went to the Vesperpool, way up north...”

Though it was still just a whisper between the two of them, Ignis was clearly ready to shout his love for their unborn child to the stars. When they were alone, Ignis was more affectionate to him. He’d ask how Prompto was feeling, and made sure to kiss his brow and squeeze his hands, unspoken reminders of his love and support. When together in bed, alone in the dark of their shared room, his hands would wander to Prompto’s waistline, as if he wanted to feel the moment their unborn child was at all palpable. His palms were warm against the bare skin of Prompto’s belly, and his lips curved against the back of Prompto’s neck.

When the morning sickness waned as the weeks passed, the two of them returned to Lestallum together with Luna in tow - Luna needed her hearing aids calibrated, and Prompto was going to have another examination. Ignis held Luna on his lap as Dr. Naline conducted her initial examination, keeping her busy and distracted while listening to their conversation at the edge of his hearing.

“It might sound strange, but I’m glad,” she told him as she palpated his chest and midsection. “I don’t see a lot of pregnancies anymore; too many people are afraid of the future. I don’t blame them, but in a way, being willing to have a baby now is an act of hope.” 

Then came the part Prompto was waiting for - the sonogram. Luna was curious about the screen, asking Ignis signed questions into his palm, which he answered softly into her ear in simple terms that would neither confuse her nor let on exactly what was happening. However, Prompto was lost to all of it when Dr. Naline touched the wand to his middle and showed him their tiny one. 

They were the same as Luna had been when he and Ignis first saw them - the giant head and tiny body, little arms and legs curled into their form. They were probably still no bigger than his palm, their tiny heart no bigger than his thumb, but they were there, faintly twitching inside him as they grew. 

“Iggy,” he said softly. “They’re… they’re great, okay? They’re sleeping. I can see their great big head growing another fantastic little brain, just like yours, and they’ve got little hands and feet already.”

Ignis nodded, smiling. “Wonderful.”

“Hmph,” Dr. Naline chuckled. “I know how to really tell him what’s going on.” 

Then, Dr. Naline turned on the sound, and Prompto saw Ignis light up in his chair at that rushing, swishing noise as the rush of their baby’s heartbeat filled the air. 

“Music to my ears.” His hold on Luna tightened just a little, as she looked around curiously.

“What is it?” She turned her head around, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. Ignis stroked her hair a few times, and told her into her ear:

“That’s a baby’s heartbeat. It’s very small, so it must work very hard.” 

“Is there a baby?” She twisted around in his lap, and he grunted as her elbow hit his middle, but caught her and held her.

“There will be, someday soon.” He smiled over her head at Prompto on the examination bed, and Prompto grinned back. 

It was a promise to their future. 

That night, after Luna had fallen asleep in the trundle bed in the Lestallum apartment, Prompto took the second copy of the sonogram printout and traced the contours of their baby so Ignis could feel. However, Ignis was much happier just to hold Prompto tight, celebrating their future.

When they arrived back in Hammerhead, Prompto put the clean copy of the sonogram into their scrapbook alongside his photos of Luna growing up. It was the start of their next chapter. 

However long the darkness lasted, this was how he would keep living. With Ignis, with Luna, with their friends and the family they’d made, the people with whom he had held on and bore out the hardships. They had made it this long in the darkness, and they’d survived. They’d lived through this much. There was a reason to keep on hoping.

* * *

A week after Prompto’s sonogram, Prompto was sitting on the den floor with Luna and Talcott while going over a lesson on vowel sounds, as Ignis worked with the Glaives in the training yard. It was a typical day, like many others. Daemons were gathering near the settlement by Hunter HQ, so Gladio was out there helping fend them off. The greenhouses and animal reserves were only managing to produce enough food because the population was continuing to drop. Prompto was trying to think only of the future that might be as he taught Luna how to sound out more words.

After all, she would need to know how to read well if there was a future.

Then, in the middle of reviewing the “long e,” Prompto’s phone rang with Gladio’s tone. He turned towards it, then tapped Talcott on the shoulder. “Keep it up, I’ll take this and be right back.” He hopped up and took his phone in hand, answering as he stepped into the stairwell to the garage. “Hey, what’s up?”

He was anticipating a call for help, or backup. He was almost ready to yank on his boots and armor and borrow a car to get out to Meldacio. However, instead of Gladio’s serious drawl, there was excitement:

_“Hey! You’re not gonna believe it, but - I just got a call from Iris. She was - she was patrolling near Galdin, and - and she saw - oh, fuck, you’re not gonna believe me.”_ Gladio was _laughing_. He was as excited as he’d been in years. 

“Try me, big guy, I’m listening.” Prompto frowned as he got to the garage and stood at the entrance to get better reception.

Gladio, laugh still crackling over the airwaves, seemed to forget himself. _“It’s - It’s - Prompto, it’s Noct. Iris picked up Noctis-”_

“What?!”

_“- and they’re headed for Hammerhead now!”_

“Are you for real?!” Prompto clutched the phone. “Seriously?!”

_“I talked to him! I heard his voice! He - he sounded so tired, but it was him, I swear, he’s headed towards you now, and so am I! Tell Ignis! Our King has returned!”_

“I’ll tell him.” Prompto broke into a run towards Ignis in the training yard. “I’ll tell him right now, and everyone else. We’ll be ready! Thanks man, I’ll see you soon!” 

_“See you soon!”_

Prompto hung up as he hit his full sprint, lungs burning, mouth aching with the stretch of his smile. Even so, he shouted it for everyone to hear:

“Ignis! Ignis! He’s back!”

Perhaps Noctis’ return was the end of their journey, one last risk they’d have to take, but it meant that, one way or another, this eternal night would end. There would be a future for them to live in. 

It was up to them to make that future, whatever it would be, a reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 And that puts us where we left off in Defects And Destiny. Thank you all for reading this little diversion into this AU's vision of the World of Ruin. I was always heartbroken thinking of the guys splitting up for ten years, and wanted to think of them all finding ways to come back together as much as they could, working together and still caring about each other as friends even as they fight to protect the world. 
> 
> How will Ignis' idea turn out? What does Prompto's - and everyone's - future hold? Find out in Defects and Destiny!


End file.
